From Brian: Impressions of Susanne of the construction site for the ASYV, while standing in the future courtyard for the village’s high school.
Liquidnet Family Rwanderers
Updates from members of the Liquidnet Family as they visit the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwanda
Jul 17
From Brian: Comments from ASYV founder Anne Heyman as she looks out onto the ASYV construction site.
From Brian: This is a tour of one of the 32 childrens’ homes in the ASYV. Each one will ultimately house 16 students in 4 identical rooms, with a common room and then a separate bedroom for the “house mother” who will live with the orphans.
From Brian: This is the vantage point from the high school of the ASYV, looking down at the construction site for the dining hall and the student homes, along with the incredible vista in the distance.
From Brian: This is the view from the middle of the courtyard of the high school for the ASYV, which is situated at the highest point in the village.
From Brian: This is a view from the center of Agahozo Shalom Youth Village construction site, a panoramic taken from the flag pole that lies at the heart of the village. Below is the two-story dining hall under construction, which will fit 800 people. Above is the where the high school is going up. And in the distance beyond are the 32 childrens homes with red roofs.
Jul 14
From Susanne: Taking Time To Exhale
I met a man on our bus who has been spending the past 4 summers in Rwanda for two week stretches with his wife. His wife is a midwife who travels into remote villages trying to teach the skill of midwifery and improve the infant mortality rate. He is working on an ecology project and has just planted a grove of the first ever pomegranate trees in Rwanda in hopes of improving the economy. He asked me an interesting question as to whether I had exhaled yet. I answered no that I was waiting until I got home. So here I sit at my kitchen table crying and crying about the bravery and hope I witnessed. I just want it to stay in my heart forever. I want to remember each face, each smile each roadway. I want to feel the hope of the people I met. It is not about a land, a country, race but about a common bond we share as people. They are parents who wanted and want the best for their children. They were also children who wanted the best for their parents, sisters who wanted the best for their brothers, cousins aunts and uncles.. It is about the hope. the smiles. the heart connections.
My sister committed suicide at age 43 leaving behind 4 children and a husband. I entered her home two days after it happened and I threw up. I sat on a tour bus and listened to John Pierre tell of how his family was murdered. He pointed to his father’s killer across the street and to a teenage boy who wanted him dead. I visited the destroyed home of his grandmother and saw his uncle sitting under a tree. John Pierre is dedicating his life to helping others. He is in charge of the formal education at ASYV. He will go into 30 districts and pick 4 students from each district to attend the Village in the fall. He has worked helping youth of Rwanda since the genocide. He is proof of life, love and purpose. I am just beginning to exhale.
Jul 13
A welcome from the kids at the orphanage that we visited in Kigali. Most were HIV+, but you would never know this from their overwhelming smiles and genuine happiness. Rwanda was 6 million pop before the genocide and 5 million after. Today it’s 10 million+!! There are way too many kids and not enough space or resources for them all.
The kids at the orphanage in Kigali bid farewell to us.
