In Memory of Anne Heyman
The Legacy We Carry On
Today, January 31, 2023, marks the ninth anniversary of the passing of our founder, Anne Heyman. Anne built the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) on strong foundations, the Jewish principles of tikkun olam—repairing the world—and tikkun halev—healing the heart. Anne envisioned that the impact of the Village, and those foundations, wouldn’t stop at our gates. Our work would ripple out to touch, heal, and transform people around the world. Below, members of our Village family reflect on the incredible success of Anne’s vision.
“I think Anne's legacy is the alumni of ASYV. When we arrived, our grade, the first to enter ASYV, was still in survival mode. We had no family. The Village is not a boarding school. It is a home, and Anne made sure we felt that—that we felt loved. When I look at my grade now, we are mothers, fathers, heads of departments, managers of banks, data analysts. We are all around the world, and we are paying it forward.” – Celestine Abindekwe, ASYV Class of 2012; University of Rwanda Class of 2017; Carnegie Mellon University-Africa, M.S. 2022
“When I arrived at ASYV, they introduced me to the concept of tikkun olam. When you heal the broken hearts of vulnerable youth, you also heal the world. Because those who are healed will give back. Through a tikkun olam club called Hope for the Future, I am now helping students outside the Village, at the school G.S. Rubona. When we remember Anne, we learn from her values, and we can implement them in our future.” – Elisa Niyomwungeri, ASYV Class of 2024
“Anne didn't come alone with her idea. She came as a group, and she brought teamwork to the whole Village. If you see far, you go far, but only because you have been supported by the people around you. The mamas, big siblings, and cousins work together to help the children. Thanks to the teamwork Anne brought, the Village keeps growing, and the children are providing to others what they have received.” – Umutesi Emerance, ASYV Staff Mama
“As Young Judeans, we all know this saying by heart: ‘It’s not for you to complete the task, but nor are you free to turn away from it.’ If the lives improved at ASYV during Anne’s lifetime were the entirety of the Village’s accomplishment, that would in itself have been a monumental feat of tikkun olam. But Anne’s work goes on. The baton has been passed to those who share her vision and are committed to seeing it grow.” – Steve Greenberg & Jennifer Sylvor, Village Visitors, January 2023