Posts from December, 2008
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Rwandan genocide orphanage heeds Holocaust model
December 15, 2008
Afrique CentraleAn orphanage modeled on those constructed for Holocaust survivors opened Monday in Rwanda by welcoming 120 children orphaned by the African country’s 1994 genocide.
Funded largely by Jewish American and international donors, Agahozo Shalom Youth Village will eventually take in 500 orphans, whose families died in a bloody ethnic cleansing campaign which claimed 800,000 lives in 100 days.The project, which has attracted celebrity support from actress Natalie Portman and the Clinton Global Initiative, is modeled on the Israeli orphanage Yemin Orde, constructed to assist young survivors of the Holocaust following World War II.
[To read more of this article,download the PDF]
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Home based on Jewish Principles to help Rwandan Genocide Orphans
December 15, 2008
By: Nicole Kallmeyer
The Globe and MailRwandan genocide survivor, Innocent Gisanura, doesn’t know much about Judaism, but the counselor at a new home for genocide orphans can explain the Jewish philosophies of tikkun halev and tikkun olam.
“The first is healing the heart, the second is healing the world,” he said.
These are the guiding principles of Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, built amid the undulating rural landscape of Rwanda’s Rwamagana district, 50 kilometers from the capital of Kigali.
[To read more of this article, download the PDF]
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Anne in Rwanda – Thursday, December 18
Thursday, December 18, 2008
It was lonely to wake up without Jason today….I missed our early morning snuggle. I went to take my usual cold shower with my usual dread, but when I turned on the taps….no water. Unfortunately one of the big issues we have is that “people” – who knows who – turn on the taps and just leave them running. Its possible that they turn them on and there is no water and they just leave them open, but I have seen village people – i.e. our people – walk by the outdoor laundry sinks where the water is running away and not bother going over to turn it off. Lots of education on every front is really needed.
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Anne in Rwanda – Wednesday, December 17
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
I woke up this morning and was very sad looking over at Jason in the bed next to me, realizing that he was going “home” – back to Israel….without me. I poked him and asked him for a snuggle. He is such a good sport, and it was really fantastic to have him around, even if it was just for 3 days. He worked so hard, and given that he flew in from Israel, went straight to work, stayed up late at night and got up with the sun in the morning, by the time I packed him off he was exhausted. He slept the whole way to the airport. I think he had a great trip – the kids loved talking to him as he is their age, and although he didn’t have the time to really hang with them I know he made an impact. When we left for the airport, as we were driving out of the village, we heard one of the kids yell “Bye Jason”. We arrived in Kigali a little early, and went to Chez Lando for a quick drink. One thing with not having a ready supply of drinking water at the village is that you are always thirsty! While we were grabbing our quick drink I got a message that the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, who I had come in to Kigali to meet, was ready to meet (she had come in from a ceremony at an orphanage in the Southern Province which she attended with the First Lady, Jannette Kagame), she was dressed in her traditional mashanana which was really beautiful. So I had to send Jason off the airport with Nir and head to that meeting. I felt so guilty about not going with him – he was kind enough to point out that he obviously didn’t mean that much to me but it was ok because he was a big boy…..He is so great. I don’t know what I did to deserve such an angel of a child, but I am so grateful for him – as I am for my other 2 children, and my husband, and all the other good things I have in my life – every moment of every day. That is what working on a project like this will do for you.
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Anne in Rwanda – Tuesday, December 16
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Today was spent in the village, generally walking around, observing, and taking things in. I want to say something about the farm, which is really taking shape beautifully. The organic farm will be located at the base of the houses, slightly below where the visitor houses are being constructed. There is a piece of land which has been flattened with the generous help of our construction company’s bulldozer (they have been great, allowing us to pay for gas and the labor but giving us free use of their equipment). On that land our volunteers are currently marking out the location of the cowshed, which will house 40 cows. On the right side of the cowshed is the feeding trough, and there are plans to eventually build another shed on the other side of the feeding trough so that eventually we can have 80 cows. This will provide the village with its daily milk needs when the village is at capacity. Next to the cowshed we are planning to build a chicken coop, housing egg producing chickens, and next to that, another chicken coop, housing chickens for food. The cook would like the kids to have one meal a week containing meat; for the most part it is rice, potatoes, beans and cassava with a variety of soupy sauces. There will also be a storage shed in the row of sheds. In front of that will be the vegetable garden, where we will soon be preparing the land for our first crop. Again, the goal is to provide the kitchen with as many of its vegetable needs as possible. Surrounding the farm area will be fruit trees that are cultivated: Citrus trees (orange, lemon etc.), mango, pineapple, banana and coffee are all in the plans. It is so exciting to see all of what was once….and not so long ago….just talk, or thoughts, taking shape.
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ASYV Teachers in Israel – Complete ICELP Training
The ASYV High School Teachers have completed their training at the International Center for the Enhancement for Learning Potential (ICELP) in Israel and received their diplomas. They now will now begin a week of training from Cisco Systems and head back home to Rwanda.
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Anne in Rwanda – Opening Day, Monday, December 15
Monday, December 15, 2008
Today was just unbelievable. The morning started out very slowly, and in dealing with (and watching Nir deal with) so many frustrating issues (water, houses not complete, things not working, not enough beds)…and many others that I won’t go into here. Anyway, at some point Sifa and I turned to each other and said “we are going to ignore everything from now on and just enjoy” – and shook hands on it. It is interesting that both of us were feeling kind of down this morning….I was exhausted too, which didn’t help.
The kids started arriving at about 11:30 this morning. They gathered at the dining hall, and then in groups of about 20 they were taken on tours of the village by the counselors and house mothers. At 2:00 pm gathered on the veranda of the dining hall. Each child was supposed to come with one guardian, but of course many many more showed up. Everyone was very gracious though, and it was good. At about 2:30 we started, with Sifa introducing all the village staff, and then me. I told the kids that they would be asked the story of the village many times, so I thought that it was appropriate that they heard it from the source. I basically went through the history, with Sifa translating. Many “grunts” of acknowledgement, as you know the Rwandans do when they agree and are following, and lots of bursts of clapping. It was really wonderful, and quite incredible really to be standing with that beautiful view, talking about the future of both the kids and ASYV. I had been asked many times what my hope was for these children, and I told them it was for them to see this as an opportunity, to take advantage, to learn as much as they can and realize how much they can achieve, and then to take those lessons and share them with someone else. The vice-Ambassador for the U.S. had asked if she could come today, and I told her yes, but no speeches as this was just a welcome home. When I went to sit down next to her she had tears in her eyes, and said….”the power of one…what an incredible story”.
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Liquidnet At the ASYV Village Opening
There are four members of the Liquidnet Family in Rwanda to attend the opening of the village and to set up the village’s internet capabilities.
To view their impressions of the village and their trip; visit their blog at http://race4rwanda.tumblr.com/
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Anne in Rwanda – Sunday, December 14
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Wow. The day before the kids arrive. Still seems unreal. I opened the window at about 6:00am and saw 2 of the most beautiful hawks, sitting in the tree right outside the window. I went onto the balcony and bird watched for about 20 minutes….there were a lot of large birds around this morning – I am not a bird person but it was so awesome to see them flying around and really up close. Sifa picked me up at the apartment and the Liquidnet team, who spent the night with me in the apartment in Kigali, went to the village with one of the village employees, Jean Bosco. I went to the TV station for my interview. It went really well, and the interviewer was really great, and ended the interview by asking how people could donate in Rwanda. We have to really figure that one out, but for now I gave him the address of our office in Kigali…and told him that if no one was there, they should leave a note and we would get back to them. He kindly mentioned the location of the village too, if someone wanted to visit, and said that they could also contact us through his show, which was great.
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Anne in Rwanda – Saturday, December 13
Today is Shabbat. The sun was up, the birds are chirping away….I don’t know if I have mentioned the birds here but they are really extraordinary…and so many of them. We could do eco-tourism…..call our visitor housing an Eco-Lodge and we are in business! I know Brian is in favor. I wonder if they will disappear when we clear all the brush that still surrounds us. Of course we will be planting thousands of trees, but they all start as little saplings, so it will take a while until we have real trees.
After grabbing my coffee I spent a little time catching up on e-mail, and met with Sifa who is spending the morning reviewing the basic principals of our informal education with the Rwandan staff in Kinyarwanda. We can’t go over this stuff enough, and even so it is going to take ages until they actually get what we are talking about. But it will come.
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