**ASYV Featured on Clinton Global Initiative Website**
JDC Partnership Breaks Ground on Rwandan Youth Village
"My first thought was of the State of Israel, which, after the Second World War, was faced with an influx of orphan survivors of the Holocaust," said Anne Heyman, founder of the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) at the Village's groundbreaking this August. Heyman traveled to Rwanda, Africa to celebrate the village's pending construction alongside the Rwandan Governor, Ministers, Ambassadors, and locals.
ASYV, a special project of JDC's non-sectarian efforts is dedicated to helping Rwandans who survived the 1994 genocide by providing a protected residential environment and a high school for 500 Rwandan orphans. The Village offers innovative educational programs, sports, a health clinic, and psychological services.
In 1994, JDC began working in Rwanda-initially providing medical care in refugee camps in Goma/Zaire and later providing scholarships to encourage survivors to pursue their future through education. Today, JDC's efforts are focused on the international pooling of resources and invaluable expertise from America, Israel, and Rwanda to pilot ASYV with the potential of being replicated for orphans of the genocide across Rwanda.
ASYV's goal of "restoring the rhythm of life" is an adaptation of a healing philosophy, developed and implemented with great success by Dr. Chaim Peri and the team at the Israeli Youth Aliyah Village of Yemin Orde, an initiative established in 1953 to accommodate Holocaust orphans and immigrant children. A team of Ethiopian-Israelis, many of whom are graduates of Yemin Orde, will serve as mentors for the educators and role models for ASYV students.
"It is our wish that the children of Rwanda will become the new builders of their society and their country. Miracles do happen--they happened to us, but through hard work and a great belief," wrote Dr. Peri, former head of the Yemin Orde Youth Village in Israel. Peri was unable to attend the groundbreaking ceremony, but has been instrumental in its development.
Heyman first contacted the JDC in January 2006 after learning of the extraordinary number of orphan children living in Rwanda. Less than two years later, the village is well on its way to welcoming its first students.
"I look forward to the day when graduates from ASYV are standing on some other podium somewhere, thanking some other community for the opportunity to bring their message and do their work of Tikkun Olam," said Heyman.
The Village is expected to become operational in 2009.
Donate to the ASYV project and other JDC non-sectarian relief causes.
ASYV Groundbreaking Press Release
Rwandan Orphan Village is Poised to Change Lives
After sitting through a lecture last November about the devastating 1994 Rwandan genocide, Anne Heyman, a lawyer and mother of three from New York, could not get the stark statistics she learned that night out of her mind: some 1.2 million children, almost 15% of the Rwandan population, had been orphaned as a result of the genocide. Anne walked out of the lecture that autumn evening one year ago and hasn't let a day go by without thinking about those Rwandan children. In just a matter of months, she conceived and developed the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV). The village will serve as a residential high school for 500 Rwandan orphans, offering a safe haven from abuse and exploitation, as well as a springboard to cultivate a future cadre of educated and motivated Rwandans prepared to shape their country's future.
Recently land was secured for the establishment of ASYV -— no small task considering the amount of red tape. The project is moving forward at a rapid pace because of Anne's tenacity, commitment and the strategic partnerships she has developed with the JDC, Rwandan professionals, and the Yemin Orde Youth Village in Israel. ASYV is actually based on the model of the Israeli Youth Aliyah Village of Yemin Orde which was established in 1953 to accommodate Holocaust orphans and immigrant children.
Anne is originally from South Africa furthering the project's power, due in part to its international scope. She has hand-picked a seasoned team of passionate and experienced professionals from America, Israel and Rwanda. In order to ensure that the Village lives up to its ambitious vision, Anne, together with Rwandan professionals, also plans to establish a Rwandan non-profit to provide local oversight and quality control. One of the most poignant and potentially impactful aspects of the project is the team of Ethiopian Jews - most of whom arrived in Israel as "orphans of circumstance" having left their parents in Ethiopia - to serve as the trainers and teachers for this very unique model of education and development. These Ethiopian-Israeli immigrants understand first hand the hardship their African neighbors are experiencing -- many of them walked through the Sudan to escape civil war, lived in refugee camps and witnessed loved ones die along the way. Upon their arrival in Israel, some found themselves orphaned and it was their experience at the Yemin Orde Youth Village that gave them a second chance at life.
Anne encapsulates the uniqueness of this project: "This project is important because it has so many levels of impact: On the lives of Rwandan children who would otherwise not have a future; on the future of Rwanda which stands to gain so much from a Village that graduates children committed to making a difference in their communities, on Africa's perception of Israel, on the self-perception of Ethiopian-born Israelis and on the Israeli community's perception of these Ethiopian-born Israelis as givers rather than takers. It also provides many opportunities for those in the States - from corporate America to school children - to make a difference in a truly meaningful way."
Most importantly, Rwandans themselves, on every level — from local officials to government ministers — have embraced the philosophy behind the Village.
Ultimately, every child who enters the village will be told: "Yes, you have suffered terribly in your life but you are here because there is a special role for you in this world. You will achieve greatness. You will make a difference in the lives of others. You will make sure that what has happened to you does not happen to your children," explains Anne.
BROCHURE:
Click here to view a brochure that describes how this Village aims to create a safe and structured community for orphaned children in Rwanda.VIDEO:
Click below to watch a 5 minute video that describes our approach and goals for ASYV. It also highlights Yemin Orde, the youth village in Israel which is the model for our village in Rwanda. In addition to a brief explanation of the 1994 genocide, several local Rwandan officials explain the need for this type of village in Rwanda.WEBSITE:
For more up to date information, please click here to visit the dedicated website.PLEASE JOIN US IN HELPING:
- ONLINE
- Click here to place a donation via our "Open Mailbox" secure online system.
- Please make your personal check payable to:
" JDC-IDP: ASYV Rwanda" and - Mail to:
JDC: JDC-IDP: ASYV Rwanda
132 East 43rd Street
PO Box 530
New York, NY 10017 - Please share your name and full address so we can properly thank you
Credit card donations may also be made by phone. Please call 212-687-6200 to contribute.
March 2007
