MURAKOZE CYANE 2013 VILLAGE FELLOWS!
As the 2013 school year comes to a close at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, we bid farewell to another cohort of long-term Volunteers, or Village Fellows. Each year, the ASYV Fellowship Program brings 8-10 volunteers from all over the world to the Village to live and work alongside our Management team, staff, faculty, and students. To date, we have 47 Alumni of the Village Fellows Program. We rely on support from this dedicated group in order to fulfill our mission and restore the rhythm of life to the most vulnerable youth in Rwanda. We are unable to take our students around the world, but we can certainly bring the world to them!
Fellows spend 1 year living and working in the Village; they are placed into professional rles and work together with Rwandan staff to support existing programs and help develop new systems and programs. They become an integral part of the staff team that enables the Village to fulfill its goal of providing a nurturing home and exemplary formal and informal education to our kids. In addition to their professional role and responsibilities, each fellow joins a family and serves as a mentor to 16 students are in their first year of living in the Village. Fellows work hand-in-hand with Family Mothers and Counselors (Big Brothers/Sisters) to create a loving and supportive family and home environment for our youth. Additionally, Fellows tutor English and teach many of the after school Enrichment Programs offered in the Village.
On behalf of everyone at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, both on the ground in Rwanda, and in the NYC office, MURAKOZE CYANE to our outgoing cohort, and best wishes for a meaningful journey ahead!
2013 Cohort:
- Avi Deutsch (Israel)
- Michelle Haimowitz (USA)
- Courtney Kelly (USA)
- Shira Liff-Grieff (USA)
- Jerrod Popham (USA)
- Isabel Shaw (USA)
- Elizabeth Siviski (USA)
- Kome Udjoh (Nigeria)
- Miki Vizner (USA)
As we bid farewell to the 2013 cohort, we would like to extend a warm Murakaza Neza (welcome) to the 2014 Village Fellows and embrace them as part of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village community. The 2014 Fellows will be converging on the ASYV offices in NYC on 10-11 December for their initial orientation. They will arrive in Rwanda on 12 December, and after an in-country orientation and staff training seminar, they will be integrated into the ASYV community and meet their new family members. We are thrilled to have them join Agahozo-Shalom!
2014 Cohort:
- Arielle Sokoloff (Canada/USA)
- Ari Beser (USA)
- Ali Wolfson (USA)
- Danni Falk (USA)
- Leigh Woods (England)
- Michael Kasdan (USA)
- Samantha Reynolds (USA)
- Sasha Friedman (USA)
- Yael Zaken (Israel)
For additional information on the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village Fellowship Program, and to access complete bios on each of the above-mentioned Fellows, please visit http://www.asyv.org/volunteer/meet-our-volunteers/2014-volunteer-corp