Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village

The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village is a unique residential community and high school in Rwanda which is currently home to 500 vulnerable teens, many of whom were …orphaned during and in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. (Agahozo is the Kinyarwanda word for "a place where one's tears are dried" and Shalom is Hebrew for "peace.") Based on an Israeli model that originally served orphans from the Holocaust, Agahozo-Shalom is a comprehensive living, learning and healing community that seeks to "restore the rhythm of life" for these young people by providing them with loving support, physical and mental health care and a top quality education. The Village's goal is to enable these children to maximize their potential and live healthy and productive lives, while instilling in them the importance of contributing to their society and the world.