JDC
JDC
To date, there have been three graduating classes with
outstanding results. Many ASYV students go on to study at
university and a number of graduates have received
scholarships to study abroad. Remarkably, graduates leave
the Village excited for what lies ahead, full of hope and committed to building a brighter tomorrow. While a Rwanda
completely free of pain and fully recovered from the
atrocities of the past is likely a long way away, Anne’s vision
of a sanctuary for building future leaders for this
remarkable country is fully intact. Whenever Anne was
thanked for everything she had done for Rwanda and the
students’ lives, she would resist taking the credit and would
forever celebrate all those who had played a part in this
miraculous story. While she and her team changed the world
for so many, she would always tell the students that “You
and I will change the world.” For Anne, her work was about
partnering with others to make positive changes which are
sustainable, a value shared by JDC.
highest point of the Village. Its position at the peak of the
hill on which the ASYV sits, represents the value placed
on education being the key ingredient for building the
future of Rwanda. In addition to attending school, there is
emphasis during the first year on healing the individual via
therapeutic and enrichment programmes, activities which
rebuild and uncover the human spirit. These include arts
and crafts, music, sports, sewing, traditional dancing, English
enrichment programmes, and health and wellness programming. These enrichment activities are central to the Village
Philosophy. The sports field and basketball courts buzz with
activity, the superstar singers of the Village often entertain
and the traditional dance crew competes on a national level,
impressing judges year after year. An interactive science
centre and a number of clubs run by the students give them
a chance to participate with different areas of interest, and
they engage the Village and lead others on issues that they
are passionate about. Students also work around the Village
and make a valuable contribution to everyday life.
A number of the values on which the Village was founded
are closely connected to Jewish values, and certain Hebrew
and biblical terms form part of students’ everyday
vocabulary. As a result, the first year at ASYV is aptly called
Tikkun HaLev (repairing the heart in Hebrew).
At the end of their first year, emphasis is placed on
healing by helping others, or Tikkun Olam (repairing the
world in Hebrew). Anne believed that the students could
only become the leaders of tomorrow if they capitalised on
opportunities to give back to their communities by sharing
and actualising their learning at the Village. For this reason,
Anne insisted on the ASYV being built in rural Rwanda,
where villages similar to those from which the students
originate surround it. After school hours on certain days
of the week, students leave the Village grounds and walk
24
to the nearby town of Rubona to “pay it forward,” and
give back to the local community. They assist in the local
medical clinic, teach English in the local primary school and
build houses for those less fortunate. In this way, they keep
their connection with the local community, realise that they
have skills and values that they can share with others, and
the know