Last "spring" AIC took a tour of the
Agahoza Shalom Youth Village
which is a boarding school with a twist!
Their mission:
"To enable orphaned and vulnerable youth to realize their maximum potential by providing them with a safe and secure living environment, health care, education and necessary life skills. Education and service are used to model and create socially responsible citizens in Rwanda and around the world."
 |
| Here we are under the tree! |
 |
| This is Anne, the founder! |
 |
| Our tour guide filling us in on how ASYV began! |
 |
| A Valentine letter --a Tribute to Anne |
i |
| This is what I like personally about about how this village is run! Every school should operate like this! |
 |
| One of the kids in their family house. Each student lives in a family house with a Mama or Aunts or Uncles as their leaders. |
 |
| Their living room! |
 |
| A look at some of the houses! |
 |
| These are the two woman that joined forces to serve children in Rwanda who were in need. |
 |
| The sad part of this story is that both of these young women had untimely deaths. Anne in a horse riding accident and Sifa in a car accident. The lose of these women has given the children at the village even more love for them and each other. |
 |
| The amphitheater… |
 |
| and view from it! |
 |
| The grounds are quite pretty and well groomed. |
 |
| Peaceful and Restful! |
 |
Moving on down to the farm. |
Raising a lot of their foods help sustain the place and also gives
opportunities for the kids to learn about farming and
animal care.
 |
| We weren't sure what these were. |
 |
 |
| Then on to the classroom! |
 |
| Creative way to move equipment! |
 |
| Working on circuits! |
 |
| Does this look familiar to anyone? |
 |
| The kids were wiring these paper houses that they had built. |
 |
| Fascinating! |
 |
| Creating Energy… |
 |
| Architecture! |
 |
| And Power! |
 |
| From there we moved to the arts! |
 |
| Practice Rooms! |
 |
| Paintings! |
 |
| A special place…. the |
 |
| The view from classrooms on the top of the hill! Looking down over the village. |
 |
| Can you imagine living and going to school at a place like this! |
 |
| Then we went to have lunch with the students! |
 |
| I sat down with Frank… who I discovered wants to go to Wheaton College… my alma mater. It is such a small world. Great time talking with Frank and many others at the table.. Left feeling like every school should be like this… a happy, respectful place to live and learn. |
This guy was telling us to leave the premises…. on our way out!
 |
| But these dolls were happy to see us! |
 |
| Had to shoot through the window but couldn't miss this shot of ALL these bananas being carried on bicycles. |
 |
| And then, there it was… a bill board for a John Deere tractor! What a way to end the day! Thank you, Becky… for a great tour and for letting us get a glimpse of what Agahoza-Shalom is all about. I pray that the children who are attending ASYV will be among the leaders of Rwanda in years to come! love, margie |
