By Matthew Matola | Development Associate
The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village is home to an incredibly diverse and talented student family. Representing each of Rwanda's 30 districts, our 528 kids have overcome terrible hardships to earn a rich and rewarding education. Each of our students has accomplished so much, and they could not be more grateful for your support. Truly, it is thanks to your compassion and generosity that students like Merci, Desange, and Bella have the knowledge and resources they need to succeed. We hope you take heart in their courage:
Before coming to the Village, Merci lived with her mother, brother, and two of her five sisters in Kicukiro District, Kigali Province. Her mother could not find reliable work and often struggled to pay her children's school fees. While Merci was able to attend a local girl's school, her education was always at risk. With your steadfast backing, Agahozo-Shalom was there to lend a hand. Now entering her third year in the Village, Merci has become an accomplished student of physics, chemistry, and biology, and has found her calling in medicine. Having served as our Student Government's Minister of Health, she hopes to study medicine abroad while joining "the effort for gender equality worldwide."
Living with her mother and two sisters in Musanze District, Northern Province, Desange's family was often unable to afford her education. Your giving made it possible for her to leave those worries behind, however, when she came to ASYV. Now a student of mathematics, economics, and computer science, Agahozo-Shalom has improved Desange's "confidence and...English skills." These strengths have empowered her to serve as our Student Government's Minister of Student Initiatives, a position that she says allows her "to be the voice for those who have ideas but lack the confidence and conviction to share them." With a plan to study business and information technology in the United States, Desange hopes to contribute to Rwanda's development by starting her own business.
Bella lived with her mother, sister, and two brothers before attending Agahozo-Shalom. Much like Merci and Desange, Bella's mother struggled to pay her children's school fees. When Bella learned of her admittance to Agahozo-Shalom, she felt "overjoyed." She knew that her mother would never again have to worry about the cost of her education. An eager student of mathematics, economics, and geography, Bella has served as our Student Government's Minister of Education and helped our debate team win at the national level in 2016. Thanks to your help, Bella now dreams of studying politics and economics in the United States, and finding work with the Rwandan Ministry of Education.
Thank you for taking the time to learn just a bit about Merci, Desange, and Bella. We know that these bright young people will build a better future for Rwanda and the world, and it is because of you that they can do more than dream of a brighter tomorrow. They can achieve it. Once again, murakoze cyane (thank you very much).
If you would like to learn more about Merci, Desange, and Bella, please visit the "Meet Our Students" page on our website.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
