The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV)

"The village will be a place of hope, where traumatized youth can "dry their tears" (Agahozo) and "live in peace" (Shalom)."
Tikkun olam (literally, "repairing the world," and practically, "engaging in social action") is one of the core tenets of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. At the Village, to undertake tikkun olam as a central project because of the strong contribution it offers to the youth of Agahozo-Shalom themselves, as well as to the surrounding communities.

The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) is a residential community in rural Rwanda. Its 144 acres are home to youth who were orphaned during and after the genocide in 1994. The Village is designed to care for, protect and nurture these young people. It is a place of hope, where "tears are dried" (signified by the Kinyarwanda word agahozo) and where the aim is to live in peace (from Hebrew, shalom). The marrying of these two languages and concepts in the name of the Village is intended as a reminder of the success of similar efforts in Israel, where genocide also changed the face of a nation.



Within Agahozo-Shalom’s supportive and structured community, the rhythm of life is being restored, with the ultimate goal of equiping young people who have lived through great trauma to become healthy, self-sufficient, and engaged in the rebuilding of their nation. The environment of love and safety created at Agahozo-Shalom serves as the backdrop for programs designed to help our teenagers grow both emotionally and intellectually. The experiences they accumulate at their village home are intended to help them at every level of their future development.

In addition to healing oneself, Agahozo-Shalom teaches the principle of serving the community, both locally and globally. The young people at Agahozo-Shalom are learning through principle and practice the value of mending the world around them (as are the many volunteers who join us from around the world). Our graduates will emerge from Agahozo-Shalom as balanced adults who are not only able to care for themselves and their families, but who are committed to making their community, their country, and their world, a better place.

The Spark of an Idea
In November of 2005, Agahozo-Shalom Founder Anne Heyman and her husband, Seth Merrin, heard a talk about the Rwandan genocide. At a dinner after the talk, Seth asked the speaker to identify the biggest problem Rwanda faced. The answer was the vast number of orphans with no systemic solution to support their well-being and development.

Immediately Anne, a South African-born lawyer and mother of three living in New York City, connected the challenge of the Rwandan orphan population to the similar challenge that Israel faced after the Second World War. When there was a large influx of orphans from the Holocaust,, Israel built residential living communities called youth villages. Anne was inspired to bring this model to Rwanda.

Misson - 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.

PHILOSOPHY
The goal of the Village is to restore hope and opportunity to traumatized young lives. A place of learning and renewal, the Village offers a safe, nurturing environment where Rwandan youth can gain the skills and self-confidence they will need to fulfill their individual potential and make an active contribution to a stronger, more peaceful Rwanda.

Repairing the Individual
The philosophy behind ASYV is based heavily on the Yemin Orde Youth Village. We believe that there is a timeline in every life, and that it is important to recognize that each traumatized youth has a past, present and future. Trauma causes a break between the past and the present, traumatic events that they need be to repaired in order for the young people to live in the present and be able to dream of having a future.

At the Village, each teenager will deal with their traumatic break on two levels. One is called tikkun halev, meaning “repairing the heart” in Hebrew. This includes individual therapies that range from music and art to seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist. The second level of the therapeutic process in tikkun olam, meaning “repairing the world.” The notion is that an individual’s healing can be furthered by doing acts of kindness for others and the feeling that they have a part in creating a more just world.

Focus on Learning
ASYV focuses on developing students both cognitively and socially. Schooling is geared towards the ideal of university but also provides students with choices for vocational tracks. Broadly, the Village education focuses on communal participation, and encourages the spirit of volunteerism as a means for sustainable development and community enrichment. It also seeks to expand each student’s talents, skills, and capacity to become not only functioning members of society, but leaders of their communities.

Financials
Where does the money come from? / Where does the money go?

Three Easy Ways To Donate Please, Click Here

Repair the world: Long Term Service

Tikkun Olam (Repair the World)
Framed Print by Gad Almaliah

The phrase in hebrew "Tikkun Olam" - Repair the world, was first used to refer to social action work in the 1950s. In subsequent decades, many other organizations and thinkers have used the term to refer to social action programs; Tzedakah (charitable giving) and Gemilut Hasadim (Acts of Kindness) and progressive Jewish approaches to social issues. It eventually became re-associated with kabbalah, and thus for some with deeper theological meaning.

No matter how you can help, a little, more or less, or whenever. The important thing is to help with love and truly dedication, believing that a small spark can ignite the fire that will light up and restore the world.

LONG TERM SERVICE (3 months-2 years)

Are many program opportunities geared towards making a long-term difference in a community. The Jewish community also has several long-term service fellowships like Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, the JDC’s Jewish Service Corps and Ralph I. Goldman Fellowship, Adamah the Jewish Environmental Fellowship, and the Jewish Organizing Initiative (JOI).

PUBLIC SERVICE (1 year-a lifetime)

Most people identify public service as governmental work — everything from being a firefighter to running for elected office. But working for a non-profit is another meaningful form of public service that allows you to be directly involved in the life of a change-making organization.

PHILANTHROPY (Anytime)

- Non-Profit: If you have the financial resources to give big — great! — but you do not need a million dollars to support the work of an organization. Virtually all non-profits have links on their website that allow you to give as little or as much as you can online. And don’t just wait until the end of the year – your donation is important all year round.

- Micro-Loan: Donating through micro-loan organizations like Kiva extends the life of your gift. The money you give supports new business ventures in developing countries, and eventually is paid back, allowing you to “re-donate” the funds to someone else.

- In-Kind: Giving charity is not just about money. You can also donate goods like an old car, clothing, cell phone or computer to directly provide for people in need, or support the work of a start-up organization.

The framed print above, you can find it here: Gallery Judaica

Repair the world: Short Term Service

Get Involved - Want to repair the world? Whether you have five minutes, an afternoon, a year, or an entire lifetime to devote to service and social justice, you can make a difference.

Exist different ways to get involved on the important issues:

SHORT TERM SERVICE (1 day-3 months)

One-time volunteer:

Many direct-service projects simply require that you show up once, or commit for a week-long project: to paint a house, serve dinner at a shelter, plant trees in a neighborhood park, visit residents in the VA hospital, or flier for a organization.

Alternative Spring Break: 

Spending a winter or spring break engaged in service is becoming increasingly popular amongst college students. In addition to getting a tan, participants get to make a difference in a community and meet other students from across the country. Interested? Check out the alternative break programs through American Jewish World Service (AJWS), Hillel, Jewish Farm School (JFS), Jewish National Fund (JNF), Jewish Funds for Justice (JSFJ) and the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

Project Organizing:

Organizing a discrete project — like a canned food drive, a fundraiser, installing solar panels on your home, or inviting a speaker to educate your community — takes a bit of time and planning, but the payoff is worth the extra effort.

Campaigning:

Whether it’s for an issue you care about or a politician you believe in, signing on to volunteer for a campaign is a direct way to make a sustained impact.

Fundraising:

Joining a walkathon like the AIDS Walk or bikeathon like Hazon’s Jewish environmental bike ride is a profound way to raise both money and awareness for an organization or cause, while having an amazing time.

'Justice and only justice will we should follow'

Nowadays nothing is more important than being fair and make acts of loving-kindness

The name "Tzedakah" comes from Hebrew and means exactly; "social justice with charity". This word tzedakah has a wider significance, because charity is not only give when you have. Tzedakah assumes that what you have, in left is missing to someone.

The concept of "Tikkun Olam" - "Repair the World" has to be part of our principles. If we can not end poverty, at least try to help our neighbors out of it, if you donate one jacket, for example, you practicing a mitzvah (commandment, precept).
The Hebrew word "tzedakah" is commonly translated as "charity" or "tithe" and is partly wrong. The "charity" implies that your heart motivates you to go beyond the simple function. Tzedakah, literally means "righteousness", ie, do the right thing with responsibly.

A "tzaddik" also is a person of integrity, someone who fulfills all its obligations.
The verse says: Tzedek, tzedek you should follow - Justice, justice you should follow, that thou mayest live and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (Deut. 16:20)

There is a basic human responsibility to be fair to the next. Nobody needs to be rich to do justice. Give with joy, you can donate money, time, clothes, foods, kindness or something. Doing this is a statement that "I do what I can to help."

This is the Jewish concept of "Tikkun Olam" - "Repair the World".