Our approach

We are focused on restoring hope and opportunity to kids affected by trauma in Rwanda. The model works because healing, care, family, and education are embedded in all aspects of the Village.

Parental Wholeness

As a member of a supportive, stable family unit, a student at ASYV has a sense of belonging and security. We place each student, by gender, into a residential family, fostering a 'brother' and 'sister' dynamic throughout ASYV. In each home, a staff member known as a family mama guides the students through their healing and holds the primary responsibility for their physical and emotional well-being. Students also receive ongoing mental health support from a team of social workers.

formal education

Education at ASYV emphasizes critical thinking, workplace readiness skills, and career guidance. Academic courses align with the Rwandan National Curriculum, with classes taught in English. During their first year, students build foundational skills in computer literacy, science, math, and English. They spend the next three years studying one of several subject combinations. These academic tracks equip our students to excel in higher education and the modern labor marketplace.

Health and wellness

Our students begin the healing process by receiving three nutritious meals each day, ready access to clean water, and stable housing. For many of our students, this is the first time they will not have to worry about food, water, or housing. The ASYV staff nurses and medical doctor complement this essential support by providing our students with primary medical care. Our students also receive an evidence-based health education that covers topics like proper nutrition, communicable and noncommunicable disease, sexual and reproductive health, and mental health.

Life Enrichment Applied Programs

LEAP encourages healing and personal growth. Programs like football (soccer), basketball, visual art, music, and photography and videography encourage students to have fun while cultivating their talents. Students are also welcome to participate in extracurricular labs in our Science Center, and to create their own original science and technology projects. Student-led clubs and community service projects encourage students to take on tangible challenges, showing them that they have the potential to make a positive difference.

“At ASYV, I decided to become a leader so that I could impact the community and help my family back home. I learned that my potential is limitless if I start small and rely on my ambitions.”

— Bosco Nshimiyumukiza, ASYV Class of 2019, Reichman University Class of 2023

Healing hearts and minds

When kids first enter ASYV, our priority is to heal them by resolving their trauma through "Tikkun Ha’lev,” or repairing the heart. We do this by providing them with love, stability, sustenance, and health care.

Once our students' hearts have begun the healing process, we encourage them to develop a passion, take on leadership roles, and participate in the community, so that each kid can further recover from their personal trauma. Our students are guided by the principle of "Tikkun Olam," or repairing the world. Through their work improving ASYV and local communities, our kids learn how to be held accountable, build confidence, think critically, and find empowerment and joy in doing for others.

Tikkun Olam initiatives include teaching at the local elementary school, providing food and clothing to genocide-survivor widows, and constructing waterproof floors for at-risk community members.