Our partner organization for our educational trip to Rwanda has been Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, an institution dedicated to give the most vulnerable youth the best possible opportunities.

Natalia wrote up some impressions about our visit:

I will never forget this day that we spent in Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village with the group of students and alumni. Agahozo means the place where „the tears are dried“ and indeed the place is just full of happiness. The school was built in 2007 as a response to the orphan crisis after the Rwanda genocide. The first students were the kids who lost their parents in the genocide. Now ASYV provides life-changing experience to the vulnerable youth groups. This is not just a school, this is a learning community designed to help their students emotionally and intellectually, transforming vulnerable young people into healthy, self-sufficient, and engaged change-makers. The experiences they accumulate in the Village will help them at every level of their future development.

Agahozo-Shalom teaches the principle and practice of healing one’s community, and encourages students to change the world around them. And we could feel it from all the guys with whom we shared this day full of fun.
Anne Heymann is the legendary woman who created the village with her own money, efforts and love. The people who maintan and manage the place are wonderful. We had the opportunity to talk with the director and volunteers.
The most impressive for me was that the kids don’t live in dormitories but they are divided into family houses where they have mother, sisterhood and brotherhood. In every family in the evening there is a reflection round where the family members share their learning progress and feelings.

The place is just full of love and care. I wish we had such schools in Europe.

pictures: cc-by-4.0 ABC Bildung- und Tagungszentrum e.V. / Henning Wötzel-Herber