The 250 students at Agahozo-Shalom are more than half way through the academic year. The past few months have been filled with exciting events at the village and throughout the country. In May, the village celebrated National Women's Day and then marked Earth week with lectures and events about environmentalism.

In June, a group of 21 Tufts University Students spend 10 days volunteering at the village. They joiined the Agahozo-Shalom students in their tikkun olam service projects, helping the local community in community service by building homes, working in the medical clinic nearby and teaching at the local elementary school.

Tufts' support enabled Agahozo-Shalom to finish construction on playing fields and stadium seating in time to host the National Soccer Team at the end of June.

Construction is also underway on our new science center and health and wellness center, both of which will be open in December when our new class of 125 students joins the ASYV community.

Pictures:

• ASYV and Tufts students do Tikkun Olam (JPG)

This January, the village welcomed its second class of 125 students. These new students, now well into their first year at Agahozo-Shalom, have settled into their family homes, where students live in groups of 16 with a house mother, a big brother or sister and a volunteer who mentors the students. The second year students have offered incredible support in helping their new classmates acclimate to village life. Liquidnet Family High School officially opened for the school year in January, welcoming all 250 students. The staff has grown to nearly 100 with 10 full time, long-term volunteers from the US and Israel who have committed to a year of service at the village. The volunteers are helping out in the farm, the school, after school and in all aspects of village life.

The village's Tikkun Olam project is expanding as well and is a source of self-esteem, gratitude and inspiration for the village and the surrounding community. Tikkun Olam (literally, “repairing the world,” and practically, “engaging in social action”) is one of the core tenets of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. At the village, Tikkun Olam projects offer a strong contribution to the youth of Agahozo-Shalom themselves, as well as to the surrounding communities.

The Tikkun Olam project involves a four year process of gradually expanding the youth’s “Area of Service.” During their first year at Agahozo-Shalom, children focus on Tikkun Halev, or “repairing the heart.” During this time they work on building their own sense of self, identity, and confidence. During the second year, the youth begin community service in the nearby village of Rubona, where they work with school children, in the local clinic, and help local residents with basic needs. In their third year, they will begin to venture out to the larger area of the district, and finally, in their fourth year at Agahozo-Shalom, the youth will engage in Tikkun Olam throughout the country of Rwanda.

As the village population grows, the opportunities and experiences are growing too. This year the village is proud to have 15 student clubs focusing on diverse subjects ranging from religion and writing to arts, music and sports. Our Agahozo-Shalom "Rhythm of Life" CD featuring songs written and performed by the students, will be available shortly on both Amazon.com and itunes.

Pictures:

• 04.jpg (JPG)

Dear Friends and Supporters of Agahozo-Shalom,

It gives me great pleasure to share with you this update from Agahozo-Shalom, where life has continued with such enthusiasm and passion that sometimes it takes my breath away. Since April when you last heard from us we have continued to make great strides, both in the “physical plant” of Agahozo-Shalom (first phase of construction completed, green grass and young trees dotting the landscape, eating our own vegetables from our farm) and in program implementation (trainings for staff, refinements in process and procedures, introduction of new enrichment activities).

Our children have settled into a “rhythm of life” that would be familiar to many of us, but for many of them is really beyond their wildest dreams. Just last week they took a field trip in to the capital city of Kigali, a modern western city which is quite an eye-opener compared to the pastoral green hills that make up most of rural Rwanda. The children visited a factory, a radio station and the Kigali International airport. Back at school they are in the process of choosing the courses they will study for their last three years of high school and for which they will have to take their matriculation exams. And as they begin to plan their next year at Agahozo-Shalom, so too have we begun to identify/recruit and to plan for the next class of 125 who will be joining us in December, which is really just around the corner.

The past six months has not been without its challenges. Although we were able to raise the funds to complete the payment for our construction (which includes future infrastructure needs, the farm, sports facilities as well as the community center, high school, and homes which can accommodate 500 children as well as visitor accommodations) the economic environment has made it difficult for us to raise the money needed for basic operating costs, and has made us keep purchases for the incoming class down to a bare minimum. Clean water continues to be a challenge, as does the very high cost of electricity and we are exploring solutions for both. The day to day trials, however, pale when compared to the accomplishments. In the green hills of Rwamagana there sits a real, live, operating youth village. It has a school which children cannot wait to get to in the morning. They eat 3 delicious nutritious meals a day with vegetables they have grown in their own farm. They sing, dance and play sports in the afternoons, go to the learning center and library, use computers, do their homework and dream about what they are going to be when they “grow up”. And they don’t stop thinking – and telling us – about how they are going to change the world.

The ripple effects of Agahozo-Shalom are already being felt in many ways and many places both in and outside of Rwanda. Although we are barely up and running ourselves, people from all over the world are visiting and beginning to talk to us about ways in which they can implement our or a similar model elsewhere. Please don’t underestimate the impact of your decision to join us in this remarkable journey. And come and visit! There is no better way to understand what is happening at Agahozo-Shalom than to spend a few days at the village, eating with the kids, sharing in activities. We are waiting for you with open arms.

Wishing you all the very best,

Anne Heyman,

Founder, Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village

Pictures:

• Village youth in front of their new homes (JPG)
• Staff celebrate the arrival of students (JPG)
• two young residents at the Village (JPG)

Agahozo-Shalom Today, in the Rwandan Context

The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village was created as a direct response to the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide. Central to its implementation, was the creation of a future cadre of Rwandans who valued life universal, understood the importance of community service, and committed themselves to ideals of

justice and human rights protection, so as to prevent Genocide from ever happening again.

Agahozo-Shalom would also introduce new paradigms in child care and educational methodologies, acting as a

model “sustainable development project”. To this end, the Agahozo-Shalom team studied the Rwandan

culture and history, the government’s policies on Education, as well as its Vision 2020 plan as pertains to education, poverty reduction, and overall development. Then programs were developed incorporating these guidelines and adding proven global innovative systems and techniques.

The physical site of the Village -two hills overlooking a beautiful lake- was chosen to illustrate the village’s philosophy of inspiring young people to “see far” and dream a better and beautiful world. The school is situated far from the houses to exemplify a regular rhythm of life, where the home life is separate from the school -kids wake up, eat breakfast, and then walk 10 minutes to school, like from a normal suburbia family rather than an

educational institution. The school also sits on the higher hill, to highlight

the importance of applying informed judgment and free thinking in every

decision we make in life, once more aiming at a holistic development,

which is in line with Rwanda’s goals for its citizens.

Currently, the constructed village includes residential housing in a group-home model, a fully-functional

high school with science and computer laboratories, a learning center, an arts center, a health and wellness center, sports fields, a dining hall and community center, and a sustainable agricultural farm.

Visitors’ housing is also being built, to host the many groups and individuals who will come to Agahozo-Shalom for volunteer experiences, exchange programs and professional seminars. Construction is environmentally friendly, and the Village is energy-conscious, continuing to explore the best alternative energy methods for future use. Turning 145 acres of wild land into a structured, safe and functioning youth village is not an easy task, but slowly, the landscape is taking shape, and soon the newly planted trees will begin flowering.

With regards to the educational programs, the high school “catch up year” started with the Rwandan

academic year in January 2009. Agahozo-Shalom’s tailor-made, full-scale high school curriculum recognizes the philosophy of developing the students both cognitively and socially, and also ensures its pedagogy is appropriate and in line with the Rwandan context. Schooling is geared towards university while also supporting students who choose to pursue vocational tracks, which include IT, agro-forestry and organic farming.

The curriculum at the school focuses on class participation; it encourages student’s investigation and inquiry, while sharpening the cognitive skills needed for the thinking to take place. At home, emphasis is on participation, team work and community involvement as a means for sustainable development and lasting peace. The main goal is to expand their willingness, skills, and capacity to

become contributing members of society.

Several after school activities are available for kids to choose from, including art, music, karate,

volleyball, basketball, soccer, basket making, cooking, a formal Itorero (traditional Rwandan singing

group), and more. The Learning Center and the Art and Music Center

provide opportunities for the students to do homework, read a book in the

library, and learn to use computers, play an instrument, or draw. The

students are also very engaged in developing the farm, where they work

every Saturday and some also work there voluntarily during their free time.

Currently, the organic vegetable garden is being prepared and students have already planted several types of fruit trees. The farm brings a tangible sense of achievement, new agricultural skills, and also contributes towards the sustainability of the Village.

Enabling the students to feel supported and gain self-confidence by becoming part of a family unit is a key component of Agahozo-Shalom. So each day ends with "family time”, when the house members come together to talk, share, and gradually build relationships, and each week ends with a “village time” -Friday night- where various “Clubs” share their thoughts/activities with the entire village. Saturday night is a “movie night”. (Religion is accommodated as necessary, with kids attending their respective services on Friday, Saturday or Sunday depending on whether they want to and are Muslims, Seventh

day Adventists, or ‘Sunday’ Christians).

Who are The Youth at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village:

Agahozo-Shalom’s newest residents are 125 teenage orphans, between the ages of 16 and 18 years old.

Roughly 60% are girls and 40% boys; all were infants or toddlers at the time of the Genocide. They were recruited equally from all 30 districts of Rwanda for a total of 120; the remaining 5 spots were filled by staff’s dependents who met the eligibility criteria. The

youth live in groups of 15 or 16 per house -all boys or all girls, with

one housemother sharing the home with them, and a dedicated counselor ‘big brother/sister’ for each group. In addition to these caretakers, the kids are surrounded by other adults and potential role models in different administrative positions, as well as at the school. In total, 60 Rwandan and 2 expatriate staff as well as 8 Israeli and US volunteers are there to educate and take care of the

children who now call Agahozo-Shalom their home.

Over the course of the last three months, the children have gotten acquainted with Agahozo-Shalom’s

educational philosophy and are starting to practice it in their daily lives, using words like “mediation” or “see far” in private conversations, and taking initiatives for community betterment.

When, in December, founder Anne Heyman welcomed them with the promise to always be there no matter what, from the looks on their faces, they must have wondered about the authenticity of that statement. They

were told that once part of the Agahozo-Shalom family, they will always be family, that they should now

stop worrying about survival and begin to dream big for themselves, their communities, and their country. They might have wondered how they would contribute to a better world -never mind why - but they didn’t; they asked to hear more about the Tikkun Olam (mending the world) concept, and it

seems are already putting it in action.

They have embraced the housemothers and counselors -whom they call mom or big sister/brother, they look after their surroundings and houses, perform community service, go to school and ask to know

more, farm their vegetable garden, offer to cook for their chef “uncle”, and sing and dance and paint

and read.

The Agahozo-Shalom kids are representatives of the resilience, willingness and capacity to rise again for Rwanda!

Agahozo-Shalom’s philosophy in Action:

Agahozo-Shalom’s primary goal is to provide a supportive family life to the youth, adequate mental and

physical healthcare, as well as a quality high school education with the opportunity to develop vocational skills as well. The intent is to provide a foundation which will enable them to take ownership of their lives and responsibility for their future families and communities. In a very short

time the children have understood that they are being provided with tools for them to use at will; they have welcomed the challenge and appreciate the trust. Last week, after only 3 months of living in the village, they started spring vacation, and many were eager to go visit their previous neighbors and/or guardians and tell them about Agahozo-Shalom. In no time Jean-Pierre, Agahozo-Shalom’s head of Informal Education, was receiving phone calls from astonished guardians: “they have changed in the

way they think about life, their logic of things, and everything -what are you teaching them, and what is your secret?”

We believe the secret is permanence -a real home- and ‘parental’ support such as one would get from a

biological parent. The Agahozo-Shalom kids know that they now have a permanent home in which to

feel loved, championed, and encouraged to explore. They are learning that the healing of the self is

enhanced by the healing of others, and that personal success is linked to community realization. They

are beginning to understand that they are being given tools to develop their physical, intellectual, and artistic abilities, and there is an expectation that they will use them in the service of their communities.

Agahozo-Shalom is not a charity, an orphanage or a boarding school, but a support system where the children can develop their own aptitudes. It’s a blessing that in less than three months, they are anxious

to visit their previous homes and share this core belief in everyone’s ability to impact the world for the better.

Summary of Major Accomplishments January-March 2009:

• Happy New Year celebration with 125 kids!

• January 12th, nearly a month after the village is fully operational; the “Liquidnet Family High School”

is in session for the academic catch up year.

• The individualized Learning Assessment is carried out; cognitive measurements reveal a high

functi

Pictures:

• Students enjoying after-school sports (JPG)
• Some of our young people (JPG)
• Our young people in class (JPG)

The Last Saturday of the First month

By Jean-Pierre Nkuranga

Director of Informal Education

January 31st 2009,

The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village has been buoyant with youthful voices for 45 days now, and the kids take part in their first day of collective community service (UMUGANDA) in their new hometown of Rubona.

The ASYV schedule on this Saturday is busy! The village will carefully undertake its first act of “Tikkun Olam” (mending the world) beyond its boundaries, but it will also play some friendly games of volleyball and football (soccer) with the Rubona teams, in addition to receiving some important guests, including the Honorable State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Mr. Mutsindashyaka.

From 7:00 am the kids are ready for the work outside of the village. The plan is for the girls to work alongside the local ladies, planting a beautiful garden at the town’s administrative office. The boys will work in the Eucalyptus forest near the village and clear it up of all hazards. At 7:30AM, the girls leave the village singing “Tuzarwubaka abana b’abanyarwanda turugire nka paradizo ku isi yose” (we will build this country, we the youth of Rwanda, and make it a paradise on Earth).

The boys follow at 8:00AM, and the villagers are amazed to see how hard working and motivated the ASYV kids already are. Indeed, they work hard and with great enthusiasm, singing all along. I hear one villager say “these kids from the Muzungu are very serious; we thought that they were spoiled but they are hard workers”. At this point, many locals who had no plans to join Umuganda (community service) are changing their minds; they all seem to want a portion of the kids’ passion and resolve!

After Umuganda, there is a gathering of everyone who participated. The local authorities and the Vice-Mayor of Rwamagana District are present, and the discussion -which revolves around the values that all Rwandans should promote in order to reach the “Vision 2020”- is open to all. I am proud to see the ASYV kids participate very actively, asking and answering questions as they come. The neighbors are happily impressed too, they promise to have February’s UMUGANDA on the ASYV grounds.

In the afternoon, 2 games are played (volleyball and football) with the Rubona Sector teams. It is invigorating to watch the village (kids, staff and volunteers) root for their teams! The Rubona teams have brought along 70 fans or so, they are singing and dancing but none of that earns them a victory -our teams are simply determined to win their first ASYV games! The match ends 2-1 in volleyball and 1-0 in football/soccer.

While the football match is happening, the State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education arrives with Mr Pinny from Israel and Mme Aline Gahongayire in charge of Good Governance in the Eastern Province. They are surprised by the beauty of the village and the kids’ fortitude and the close bond they clearly already share. It is unbelievable, they say, that this would be so after only 6 weeks of knowing each other! They also comment on how real the homes look and feel, visit the “Art and music Center” and stop by the “Learning Center” before heading to the farm.

Minister Mutsindashyaka who strongly encourages them to keep up the good work, saying that indeed ASYV is bound to produce heroes in a few years, will later be told by an ASYV kid that in such a special place, “we promise to succeed, and no one will be disappointed”. I can’t help but think about the kids I recruited only few months ago, and what a transformation they have already undergone.

As Nir (Village director) introduces Lemor and Shallaf -from the professional Israeli football team Hapoel Tel-aviv FC- who came to train our soccer players (girls and boys), and thanks the Hon Minister for his unfailing support of ASYV, I am a little distracted by the thoughts and feelings about to burst out from my heart! The Hon. Minister closes by reminding the kids of how lucky they are to be in ASYV, that they must make sure to explore all opportunities provided to them, and that he expects to see them all becoming good leaders in the future of Rwanda, but my mind is racing back in time, unable to believe what I now see! Some were hopeless and unable to smile when I first met them -they are changing now, and starting to display a lot of leadership and talents, they are becoming creative and enjoying responsibilities, and they are cheerful!

Many enjoy being in the learning center (for some, it’s the first time they see/touch a computer in their lives), others are busy in the Music and Arts Center, playing instruments and recording songs in the make shift music studio and the new songs are recorded everyday in the music studio.

Lastly I'll mention the farm where kids and staff like to work on Saturdays (except the Jews and 7th day Adventists who work on Wednesdays), but there is so much more that I am leaving out!

When the school started for instance (this is the last one), the kids were surprised to see the teachers and the principal of the school coming in the Dining hall to share the food with them. To this day they repeat “it was unbelievable, we never saw this in our life, teachers were like enemies”!

ASYV is making a difference by just being there and the kids “want” to succeed as a result. They value the respect we show them, and in turn they reciprocate profoundly! As for me and the rest of the educators, we could not have dreamed of a better way to contribute to a better world.

Amahoro/Peace until next time.

JP

Links:

• Agahozo Shalom Youth Village

Pictures:

• ASYV kids participating in community service (JPG)