Rebuilding lives in Rwanda

Philanthropist Anne Heyman spoke last night about a new international development project — a youth village called Agahozo Shalom, created to help rebuild the lives of Rwandan teenagers who have been affected by the 2004 genocide.

Agahozo Shalom, which means “dry their tears” and “live in peace,” is a special project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a school that provides high-school-level education that the orphans of Rwanda might not otherwise receive.

“There is not a Rwandan that you mention the name to that doesn’t tear up at the mention of [Agahozo Shalom],” said Heyman.

Agahozo Shalom is an offshoot of another one of Heyman’s projects, called “Moral Voices,” which was developed at Tufts University to raise awareness about one global issue each year. In the past, the project has hosted Erin Brockovich, who fought a campaign on behalf of California residents who suffered toxic injury due to unsound environmental practices.

Moral Voices hosted its first keynote speaker in November 2005: a citizen of Rwanda who talked about the 1.2 million orphans of the Rwandan genocide. Hearing his speech, Heyman wondered if a modified model of the youth villages created in Israel might be successful in Rwanda as well.

As she explained, the program takes “kids who are not only a burden on society but who are potentially a threat to society” — in other words, smart teenagers with nothing to do, she said — and teaches them that they can go far.

Many students enter Agahozo Shalom with limited skills in the English language and a patchy middle-school-level education, Heyman explained. But the kids learn quickly, often picking up English in addition to the several other languages they already know. Their classes are comparable to high school classes in the United States — Heyman said her son, Jason, actually tutored some of the kids in physics over the summer.

Among the most important work being done at Agahozo Shalom is the process of instilling students with a sense of empowerment. As a mural on one of the buildings in the village reads, “If you look far, you will see far.”

For instance, Heyman recounted the stories several teenagers who returned to their homes in Rwanda during a break from school at Agahozo Shalom. The first student, whose family plot had been taken over by his uncles at the death of his father, felt empowered for the first time to approach the authorities about this injustice.

Eventually, Heyman said, the village will become a temporary home to 500 students, accepting 125 every year since December 2008 until it reaches its goal.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.