How Our Kids Kicked Off a New School Year
Dear Friends,
In late September, we were thrilled to welcome the students of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) back for the 2023–2024 school year. These students included our 130 first-year kids. There are few moments as special as greeting our newest family members, knowing all the opportunity that lies ahead of them.
Meanwhile, our older students began the year with a renewed commitment to Tikkun Olam—repairing the world—and to expressing themselves through passions like painting. I invite you to read our kids’ thoughts on these first weeks of this exciting new school year, and thank you for your commitment to making all they’ve experienced possible.
Warmly,
Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura
Executive Director, Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village
Welcoming Our Newest Family Members
On September 29, we welcomed our 130 newest family members to ASYV. These first-year students hail from all 30 districts of Rwanda, bringing with them diverse life experiences, passions, and dreams. Each has also brought remarkable resilience. During their first three weeks in the Village, these students got to know their ASYV mamas and siblings, began their healing journeys, and bonded through activities like hiking, dancing, and visiting the Anne Heyman Solar Field. At the end of that orientation, we asked three kids about their first days in the Village.
“Before, I did not have money for school fees, and my mom was sick. I didn't have brothers or sisters or cousins, but in ASYV I have a family with love and support. My talent is dancing. When I dance, I refresh my mind. I don’t think about my troubles. I will take every opportunity to study and to dance. I want to be a doctor to help people like my mother.”
– Vanessa Niyonshuti
“My old school was a simple school. We couldn’t go hiking or ride bicycles or do art. I enjoyed our orientation because we did many things I had never done in my life. Here, you go for a guitar, you find it. A piano, you find it. You go for basketball, you practice with a team. In terms of academics, I want to learn more English and be confident giving speeches at a podium.”
– Evas Uwamuruta
“My mom passed away when I was 12, and I missed living with a mother. Here, it’s really good because I got another mom, a big sibling, a cousin, everyone. I’ve learned many things already. And I will make sure I take advantage of every opportunity we get here. I want to finish my first year knowing how to play piano and being the best basketball player ever.”
– Alliah Keza Irafasha
Repairing the World
Our student-run For Us initiative visited a primary school in Rubona.
At ASYV, our kids learn that they have the power to turn their passions into action and impact the world. Several of our kids started the school year by founding new initiatives, from a student-taught sign language class to mentoring programs, that seek to create the change they want to see in their communities. One of the new groups, For Us, supports vulnerable primary school children, especially girls, who are struggling to stay in school. We sat down with the For Us founders, second-year student Alodie Mbabazi and third-year student Iradukunda Dieudonne, to learn more.
What inspired you to start For Us?
For Us founders Iradukunda Dieudonne (left) and Alodie Mbabazi.
Dieudonne: We wanted to help kids who are suffering, like us in our past. My mother suffered a lot. She had an unwanted pregnancy and got chased out of school. So if I see someone, a girl who has an unwanted pregnancy or other kids who are suffering, I really feel that. Helping those kids, it’s our mission.
Alodie: Yes. And we have also seen that in Rwanda, the whole country is affected by the problem of vulnerable kids who drop out of school before finishing even primary school. Mostly girls drop out of school at that young age, so we decided to create this initiative to help girls, but also boys, stay in school.
What does For Us do?
D: Our mission is to heal, to remove injury from kids’ hearts. We contribute to buy basic needs like notebooks and encourage the kids and teach them that they are capable.
A: We also create video sketches that we post on our YouTube channel. The videos focus on teaching people to change perceptions of gender and promote the idea that girls should study. In the past in Rwanda, girls were seen as for housework, not for school.
What in-person projects have you done so far?
A: We visited the Rubona primary school, the closest school to Agahozo. There were six students that we met with. They were excited to see us. We had called the school leader of the Rubona school and gave criteria.
D: They selected kids who are really suffering more than others. Those kids who don’t pay school fees because they lack money. Those kids who don’t have books, who don’t have a uniform.
A: We were asking them about their future dreams. We advised them that they have to work hard. We handed them some school materials that we had brought, like notebooks and pens. We paid their school fees.
What are your goals for the future?
D: During this academic year, we will continue to visit these students. We will visit them with their families, and talk to their parents if they have them. We will also continue to teach boys and girls at ASYV about gender. We have seen our sketches really affect many people, so we will make more sketches to help empower girls.
A: For short term goals, we are trying to solve problems for the kids, whether school fees, school uniforms, or school materials. A long term goal is to enlarge our initiative. Once the initiative is strong, we will visit other sectors because kids are not only suffering in Rubona. There are many kids who are suffering.
Why I Paint
This article, by fourth-year student Alain Muhire, is featured in Bwira News, our student blog.
Visual art is my rhythmic breath. A dance of inhales and exhales, where each stroke births beauty born of creation and dreams. In this space, knowledge graciously steps aside, allowing the boundless expanse of imagination to take center stage—meaning that knowing is nothing at all but to imagine is everything. Ever since I embraced the path of a visual artist, my life has been filled with a fresh depth of fascination. With each stroke, I put my being, my heart, and my essence into the brush, exhaling my thoughts onto the canvas. Read more.