Saturday, September 18, 2010
From Brian: walk back from town
Scott and I picked up some bottled water in the nearby town, Rubona, and per usual created quite the stir among local primary school kids who decided to walk back with us "muzungu" ("white person").
From Brian: video of "muchaka muchaka" (jogging)
Every Saturday morning at 6am the kids jog around the village in groups, singing call and response songs along the way.
Friday, September 17, 2010
From: Emmanuel: The Reality of My Trip to Rwanda
On Friday, August 10 at 6:30pm, Scott, Brian, Val, and I took off on a journey to Africa for a humanitarian trip to Rwanda. The excitement to see the village that Liquidnet helped to build was overwhelming, even with the steep flying anxiety. Nineteen hours later, we landed in Rwanda, a country full of wonderful people, great culture, and red elevated mountains, in addition to a terrific panorama view. We slept at a guest house in Kigali, the capital, and headed to our final destination to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village mid-day Sunday. Arriving at the village, my first impression was astonishing, and far greater than anything that I (or anyone) could have imagined.
It was impressive that in such a short time (the groundbreaking was only August 2007) that so much infrastructure, beautiful houses, schools, farm, and so on could be constructed, and organized. The village was welcoming, and the kids were all in good spirits. They each quickly introduced themselves at every encounter we had. It is remarkable how Liquidnet and others, specially the Heyman-Merrin family (the pioneers), can rally so many good hearts to brighten the lives of the orphan kids who have such a bright future…All the residential properties, and others are constructed with premium care for a comfortable environment for the kids.
Being in the village, and visiting the Genocide Memorial in Kigali before coming to the village, shed light through the struggles of these young survivors.
Their futures are all hopeful today because they are surrounded by an entire new family. This visit is an opportunity given to us by Liquidnet to acknowledge the world around us, and bring our support to celebrate their tough endurance. As little as it could be, you can make a difference, so let us stand up and make the world a better place…
It was impressive that in such a short time (the groundbreaking was only August 2007) that so much infrastructure, beautiful houses, schools, farm, and so on could be constructed, and organized. The village was welcoming, and the kids were all in good spirits. They each quickly introduced themselves at every encounter we had. It is remarkable how Liquidnet and others, specially the Heyman-Merrin family (the pioneers), can rally so many good hearts to brighten the lives of the orphan kids who have such a bright future…All the residential properties, and others are constructed with premium care for a comfortable environment for the kids.
Being in the village, and visiting the Genocide Memorial in Kigali before coming to the village, shed light through the struggles of these young survivors.
Their futures are all hopeful today because they are surrounded by an entire new family. This visit is an opportunity given to us by Liquidnet to acknowledge the world around us, and bring our support to celebrate their tough endurance. As little as it could be, you can make a difference, so let us stand up and make the world a better place…
Thursday, September 16, 2010
From Brian: TV News Club
At the ASYV there are currently 16 families, each living in a house with 16 students and a house mother, plus a counselor – an “older brother or sister” – who lives at the village but not in the house. There are 16 clubs that meet every Monday night (with one kid from each family in each club) – covering topics from “Newspaper Club” (which develops the ASYV newsletter) to “Religion Club” (which celebrates religious holidays for the diversity of faiths – various types of Christian and some Muslim – at the village) to “Art Club” (which plans artistic projects at the village).
On Monday we visited the “TV News Club,” which uses donated flip cameras to produce a short weekly video report on village life. The counselor in charge of the club, Jimmy, taught the kids different features of the software they use to edit the news. We then watched a clip of the previous “TV News” segment that had been shown in front of the entire ASYV at the weekly “Village Time” on Friday nights. The two anchors were given constructive feedback. These kids are impressive in so many ways…several could surely have a career in broadcasting.
On Monday we visited the “TV News Club,” which uses donated flip cameras to produce a short weekly video report on village life. The counselor in charge of the club, Jimmy, taught the kids different features of the software they use to edit the news. We then watched a clip of the previous “TV News” segment that had been shown in front of the entire ASYV at the weekly “Village Time” on Friday nights. The two anchors were given constructive feedback. These kids are impressive in so many ways…several could surely have a career in broadcasting.
From Scott: the new ASYV Amphitheater
As Brian mentioned, every Monday is club night in the village. I attended TV club, which focuses on the journalistic approach of broadcasting and the technology used to create professional television news broadcasts. The students put on a weekly news broadcast on events happening around the village. The news is shown every Friday night during village time. This week’s club meeting was devoted to reviewing the news broadcast from the prior week, which showcased the opening ceremony for the new amphitheater. The amphitheater officially opened less than a month ago. The students celebrated the opening with many performances, including a short play, a fashion show and a few music and dance routines. We had toured the amphitheater earlier in the day, but the review of the news broadcast at TV club gave a clearer picture of the space while in use by the students.
The amphitheater is beautiful. The setting, like most at the village, provides stunning views of the valley below and the lakes in the distance. The amphitheater itself is constructed in traditional semi-circular fashion; over 10 rows high, with seating for close to 800. I have only experienced the space empty, however it doesn’t take much stretch of the imagination to picture memorable events being held here for years to come.
from Val: my view
Hello dear friends.
It is very difficult to summarize all new impressions, experiences and events, which have happened to me in these 4 days in ASYV. First of all, the village itself is simply amazing. So much vision, hard work and love in this place. When we arrived from urban Kigali to ASYV, the fresh mountain air and unbelievable views created a feeling of being on a top of the world physically and mentally. Where else can you see sunrise and sunset from the same exact spot? But the most important part of all of this is the people who live here. They all are doing an amazing job making sure the Village runs through its daily routines. School, living quarters, dining hall, and farm – they all seamlessly work together for one simple reason – kids. Kids are not really kids here… after all, given what most of them went through, they are much more mature then one might think. The conversations we are having, the questions they are asking, the way they all want to study and learning new things is mind-blowing.
While most of the time is occupied with the wireless LAN expansion that I am working on, I was able to participate in several ASYV weekly programs. One day we went to the local village to help local residents with their projects, as part of Tikkun Olam - give back to community - program. The idea is for the kids to not forget that that there is a real world around and that they need to give back some of their time and work to the local community. I was digging the ground in the
backyard of an older lady, and was having conversations with kids about math and geography. On a "debate night" it was very interesting to follow a dispute that the boys were having, and later that night they invited me to their house for family time for a cup of a strong Rwandan tea and we talked about many different things.
I hope this project runs for years to come and helps Rwanda to get back from its knees.
It is very difficult to summarize all new impressions, experiences and events, which have happened to me in these 4 days in ASYV. First of all, the village itself is simply amazing. So much vision, hard work and love in this place. When we arrived from urban Kigali to ASYV, the fresh mountain air and unbelievable views created a feeling of being on a top of the world physically and mentally. Where else can you see sunrise and sunset from the same exact spot? But the most important part of all of this is the people who live here. They all are doing an amazing job making sure the Village runs through its daily routines. School, living quarters, dining hall, and farm – they all seamlessly work together for one simple reason – kids. Kids are not really kids here… after all, given what most of them went through, they are much more mature then one might think. The conversations we are having, the questions they are asking, the way they all want to study and learning new things is mind-blowing.
While most of the time is occupied with the wireless LAN expansion that I am working on, I was able to participate in several ASYV weekly programs. One day we went to the local village to help local residents with their projects, as part of Tikkun Olam - give back to community - program. The idea is for the kids to not forget that that there is a real world around and that they need to give back some of their time and work to the local community. I was digging the ground in the
backyard of an older lady, and was having conversations with kids about math and geography. On a "debate night" it was very interesting to follow a dispute that the boys were having, and later that night they invited me to their house for family time for a cup of a strong Rwandan tea and we talked about many different things.
I hope this project runs for years to come and helps Rwanda to get back from its knees.
From Brian: Introducting the September 2010 Liquidnet Village People
Since 2007, nearly 50 members of the Liquidnet Family have travelled to Rwanda to volunteer their skills at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. Joining this group of “Liquidnet Village People” this week are Val Zhupan, Scott Pitzer and Emmanuel Alabre. This team is focused on shoring up and expanding the WiFi network that previous teams had installed across the 144-acre campus, deploying donated administrative software, trouble-shooting miscellaneous server and IT issues, helping with budget planning, and assisting with long-term strategy for income-generating activities at the village. Along the way, they're having an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience, getting to know some of the 250 kids who now call the ASYV home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)