Tikkun Olam

     Recently I started a new project helping students from Senior 5 partake in Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). At Agahozo, students in the first year focus on Tikkun HaLev (repairing the heart). When the enter Senior 4, they partake in Tikkun Olam every Tuesday of all terms. They go to Rubona and help with various projects: working in the clinic, teaching in the Primary School and building houses for poor people. In Senior 5, students begin Tikkun Olam in Term 2. Every Thursday they help in different projects: teaching English and educating about computers.

     The specific project that I am focused on is helping to teach English to people living in the areas surrounding Agahozo Shalom. The group of local students is made up of around 20 people ranging in ages from 18 to 45 years old. The local students range in completion of Primary 4 up to Senior 6 (Primary = Middle School, Secondary = High School). Despite the differences in age and educational background, all of the local students are eager to learn English.

Intermediate class.

     Not knowing what to expect, I was blown away! While I didn’t know many of the Senior 5 students, I was so proud of them. They came into Tikkun Olam also not knowing what to expect and with no lesson plan. Fluidly and effortlessly the Senior 5 students worked together to teach the local students greetings and the alphabet. The focus was to test them in order to split the local students into 2 levels, beginners and intermediate.

     Throughout the lesson I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I was so impressed with the Senior 5 students. One of the most enjoyable parts of the examination was when one student, Chloe, taught the local students the alphabet. After reviewing each letter, Chloe taught them the ABC song (to a different tune than I’m used to, but a really catchy one). With great fervor, the local students sang the song. As they repeated the song, the local students began to smile and sing louder, with more confidence. As more confidence filled the room, the Senior 5 students began to feel more comfortable in their roles as English educators. After the exercise, one of the local students pointed out that the word “Alphabet” was spelled incorrectly on the board. All of the Senior 5 students shared a chuckle as no one had noticed it until one of the local students pointed it out.

     While some Senior 5 students proceeded with the examination, I sat with Patrick, the Senior 5 student that helped me teach English to the Enrichment Year students in one of the first weeks of my being in ASYV. Curious about why so many local students had not been taught English prior, he taught me many things about the education system in Rwanda:

• Before Genocide all Primary and Secondary schooling required school fees. Due to poverty, many people could not afford the school fees.
• After Genocide, many students stopped attending school because of other responsibilities.
• People that were child-head of household often cannot attend school since they have to care for their younger siblings.
• Currently, Primary 1 to Senior 3 is free. School fees are only required for Senior 4 – Senior 6. This allows more students to successfully learn.

Peace and Patrick teaching a lesson. 

It was such a privilege to be with Patrick 5 months after first meeting him. I watched him blossom over time and now be more confident in his ability to share his strong knowledge of English. (He’s the student that really wants to create another youth village in Africa with me.)

     After the examination was completed, the Senior 5 students split the class. I joined the intermediate class to be a resource for English grammar and spelling. The first thing we did when we split into two groups was practice greetings. Through the exercise, it was very clear that one of the local students was a low-level listener and speaker. Two of the Senior 5 students approached me to get advice on how to handle the situation. While I didn’t play an active role in creating and executing the lesson plan, it was really nice to be able to provide advice.

Yves and a local student laughing during the lesson. 

     The lesson exceeded the end time since both the Senior 5 and local students were eager to continue learning. By the end of the lesson, the local students were asking for English translations of various words and sentences. Among the words, “stomach” and “chin” was “My lover, I want to hug you.” The Senior 5 students got a laugh out of that one. After the lesson, I walked back to my house with two Senior 5 students that had taught. They asked me all about the education system in America. It was such an educational and interesting conversation.

     I was so impressed with the performance of both the local and Senior 5 students. It is incredible that the Senior 5 students are able to bring so much energy and passion into teaching English despite their other pressures of school and extracurricular studies. Each Senior 5 student took part in teaching and assisting the local students, and did so with extreme care and commitment. Now that’s what I call Tikkun Olam!

Blaise teaching greetings. 

A Senior 5 student helping a local student. It's almost as if they planned their outfits. 

Empowering Young Women

View of the Village from the School. 

     This Saturday I woke up bright and early to participate in the 6 AM Mucaka Mucaka (Village wide run). But this Mucaka was different than all other Mucakas….

     Recently the Village has been struggling with figuring out how to address the issue of young women’s involvement and success in sports. Many of the female students in the Village are not motivated to participate in sports, aren’t winning sports matches and aren’t actively participating in Mucaka. The solution? Zumba! My response? Brilliant!

     And indeed it was brilliant. As I woke up at 5:30 AM, I had no idea what to expect. I hiked up to the school (it’s really steep) and arrived to find two members of the Administration staff welcoming me with big smiles and open arms. Both were decked out in exercise gear! Slowly more students arrived. At first it was only students from Senior 6, but before I knew it, the school courtyard was filled with about 40 students and 10 Mamas from all different grades.

     With music blasting (both Rwandan and American hits), we began our Zumba lesson with a trained Gym Tonic (that’s what they call Zumba) guide. All of the students and Mamas began actively participating in the aerobics. Everyone was smiling and happy. When I made eye contact with other participants, both the young women and I had giant smiles on our faces.

     The workout lasted an hour. It was definitely a workout but I really enjoyed it. I’m thinking for my weekends off I’ll be attending Gym Tonic and then heading out. It was such an incredible way to bring young women together to create a safe space for exercise. The power, strength and confidence that I felt during the Gym Tonic class was incredible. The optimism and happiness permeated the school courtyard. 

     Despite the grass cuts that I got, I’m excited to head back for more. I mean who can go wrong with 6 AM Zumba lessons with inspirational young women and Mamas? Count me in! 

Enrichment Year ladies at the New Years Eve celebration. 

Olive, Mable and Guslaine. 

Lalissa, Gemima, me and Grace. 

Beautiful young women from Enrichment Year and Senior 6. 

Running Workshops

Sorghum in the Village.

Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one (Malcolm Forbes).

     Recently I had the opportunity to help run various workshops for new staff in the Village. Working with Alain, Director of Education and Philosophy, I planned and implemented three different workshops: leadership, empowering kids and empowering students and staff.

      The first two trainings I ran for new counselors and a new Mama. Little did I know that many of them did not know English. For the first time in my life I ran a workshop to a non-English speaking audience. While at first I was nervous about how the new staff would receive my presentation, I quickly became comfortable. Utilizing the help of Andrew, the Enrichment Year Grade Coordinator, to translate, the workshop went very smoothly. While the new staff spoke primarily in Kinyarwanda, Andrew translated. Looking at the new staff, I could see their smiling faces and minds turning.

     At the end of the two-day presentation, I received many thanks. Andrew told me that I should always run seminars like this. And Alain told me that he think I found my calling. One of the new staff even asked me for the written plans for both workshops so she could continue to think about the topics of leadership and empowerment.

     So impressed with my presentations, Alain asked me to attend the new administration training to take notes on his presentations and lead another workshop on empowering both students and staff. At the beginning of the week I was able to listen to Alain discuss the philosophy of the Village. While I went through this training when I first arrived in the Village in December, it was very different to hear about the philosophy after experiencing life here for 6 months. Alain’s presentation was more powerful than ever and really made me realize the strong effect that the Village has on its students.

     At the end of the week I led a workshop discussing the notion of empowering students and staff. Coming from an informal education background, I try and utilize different methods of interactive teaching and learning. And the staff loved it! Through interactive dialogue and skits, the new administrative staff were able to grapple with real-life challenges within the Village (students who are resistant, staff that don't feel welcome in the Village, etc). While presenting different sketches, the staff were attentive and laughing. It was really rewarding to see the success of integrating a new teaching model into the Village.

     All in all, the presentations were great. It was wonderful to be a part of training new staff and to share my knowledge of leadership and empowerment, two concepts that I am constantly challenging in my life. Something that I always remember when engaging in social justice work is:

Be the change you wish to see in the world (Mahatma Gandhi)

The Challenges of Communication

My Mommy and I in Kigali. Just in time for Mother's Day. I LOVE YOU! 

This year I have been given the opportunity to travel to Rwanda to volunteer at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village. Based off of the model of Yemin Orde in Israel, Agahozo provides food, shelter, education, extracurricular programs and most importantly, family and love to 500 orphaned youth. The Village focuses on rehabilitating the youth and helping them tom envision a bright future for themselves. The students partake in Tikkun Halev and Tikkun Olam so they can begin the process of repairing their hearts and the world in a supportive and encouraging environment. While most of the students come from challenging, unthinkable and traumatic backgrounds, these students are some of the brightest, strong and most inspiring youth that I have ever encountered.

Aside from it being my job to directly engage with the students, I am compelled to form strong bonds with them. Upon my arrival to the Village, I was overcome with the challenge of communicating with the new students, the Enrichment Year class. Coming from rural areas al over Rwanda, many students did now know a word of English. This posed many questions for me: How do you communicate with someone when you don’t share a common language? Will I ever be able to communicate with these students? If I can’t verbally connect to these students, then how do I build strong, meaningful relationships with them? While I was terrified that I would never form these relationships with the students, my understanding of communication began to go through a pivotal transformation.

In the first week that the Enrichment Year students arrived, we divided into English groups to begin the process of English immersion (English is the official language of the Village). I was instructed to teach the beginner level. While I was initially jealous of my colleagues for working with more advanced English speakers, I soon learned that the lessons I would learn during this one week would positively inform the rest of my interactions in the Village. The first few days were a challenge. We started with the alphabet, numbers and greetings and even after a few days, many of the students in my class continue to struggle to grasp these basic concepts.

On Wednesday of that week I had a breakthrough that would make me think for months to come. While I was leaving to grab something in my room, one of my students, Yvette ran up to me. She opened her notebook and without speaking, pointed to a written message: “Hello. My name is Yvette. I want to tell you that because it is very nice to meet you and I love you. Please do not tell anyone in the Village.” I was blown away, not only by her English, but by the fact that she already felt a strong connection to me after only three days of knowing each other. Completely touched and overwhelmed, I began to spend more time thinking about how she could already feel so connected. Back at home, all of my relationships are founded in the ability to verbally communicate. Without this luxury, I wasn’t sure how relationships could exist. After contemplating this notion for over a month, I had a realization. I realized that there are a myriad of ways to connect that don’t include verbal communication: laughing, hugging, eating a meal together, holding hands, playing sports, sitting next to each other, and the list goes on.

While I still struggle to connect to everyone in the Village, this epiphany has changed the way that I view relationships. There is so much more nuance to relationships than being about to talk in the same language. And sometimes, the nonverbal forms of communication are more powerful than the verbal ones.

Since our English class, Yvette’s English has blossomed and so has our relationship. She has confided in me about her broken past and about her hopes for the future. Using her improved English, she wrote me this letter:

Dear Methal,

Hi my friend. It’s really long time without seeing you. I have miss you too much. Because you’re always in my mind and in my dreams.

I do hope that we shall meet one day. Know that mountain and hills don’t but people always do.

Yours Sincerely,

Yvette

I am so proud of her development and I continue to look forward to watching her grow. While we are able to communicate more fluidly through verbal interactions, I can’t forget that the foundation of our friendship is rooted in the rawest form of nonverbal love. Yvette is such a strong, extraordinary and inspiring young woman. I will always treasure the lessons that she has taught me about communication. The power of non-verbal communication is truly boundless. (An essay I wrote for a Jewish Service Corps forum.) 

Typical! Schmidt family eating breakfast in Kigali. 

Yoshi and I in my kitchen at Agahozo. 

My Dad and I in Kigali. 

A giraffe at Akagera National Park in the Eastern Province. 

The Importance of Family and Friends

     This past month I had the privilege of welcoming my parents and brother to Rwanda. While it was an emotional journey, I was so thankful that they stopped their lives in America to join me as I explore Rwanda. While they were here I was able to welcome them into my Rwandan life. They were able to put a name and face to the experiences that I’m having here. It was really special to be able to share with them the experiences that I’ve been having. It’s been a challenge to fully explain my experiences here, so it was truly incredible to let Rwanda speak for itself.

My Mom and I holding hands at
Agahozo Shalom Youth Village.

     While here my family and I traveled all around; we went to Kigali, the Eastern Province and the Western Province. We went to Agahozo so they could bask in the beauty of the Village. We attempted to go to Akagera National Park to see animals (inquire within). We traveled to Lake Kivu (one of the six largest lakes in the world). We ate tons of food. We took many pictures. And of course we relaxed, caught up and cuddled as the Schmidt’s usually do (I was constantly holding my mom’s hand). Even though the trip flew by, I took in every moment. I couldn’t have been more thankful for them coming here and the precious time we spent together.

     However, their trip had to come to an end. Through tears I went through security and checking in only to find that my flight had been delayed by 24 hours (turned out to only be 12 hours). An emotional mess, I spoke to the airline and they assured me that I would be put up in a hotel. So I spent the second night of Passover in a hotel in Ethiopia tasting all of their local beers. I passed the time and off I was to Israel for two weeks.

My parents and I in the rain.

My adorable parents at Lake Kivu in Gisenyi. 

My Mom and I shopping for crafts.

My Mom, brother and I. 

My family at our hotel in Kigali.      

Bourekas, rugelach and pita! 

     As soon as I arrived at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel my wonderful Aunt, Aviva, greeted me. It was such a relief to finally arrive! Immediately we went to see my uncle, aunt and three cousins for lunch. I don’t think that I’ve ever enjoyed Passover food as much as that meal. It was wonderful to be reunited with my Israeli family and to eat different food. For the rest of the week I hung out with and got spoiled by my family and friends. I took in the beauty of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I was overwhelmed by the city and overcome with joy by the variety of food and things to do. Overall, It was really refreshing to be with people that I love and care about so much and hadn’t seen in years.

     But of course vacation can’t continue forever. After a week of relaxing I was off to a seminar run by the JDC, the organization that sent me to Rwanda and brought me to Israel. For four days we (25 fellows across the world) engaged in cross-cultural learning, experience sharing and leadership training. It was great to be with such a young, fun, supportive and like-minded group of individuals. Over the course of the week I learned a lot about different Jewish communities around the world and about myself.

     During my time in Israel I had the opportunity to be there for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). On this day I was able to be with my grandfather (who I call Saba) who is a Holocaust survivor. My Saba is an extraordinary, inspiring and loving man. As a kid in Poland, my Saba was taken under Nazi rule from the onset of World War II until the bitter end where he was liberated from Mauthausen (a death camp located in Austria). Despite losing all of his family, my Saba survived and created a new life of his own in Israel. With Aviva, his daughter, we went to the Yom HaShoah ceremony.

My Saba and I at the Yom HaShoah Ceremony.

     While I didn’t understand all of the Hebrew speeches (by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres), I knew that my presence spoke louder than words. Bundles up in many layers of blankets, sitting next to my Saba, I felt a strong connection to Israel and Judaism, stronger than I’ve ever felt before. At the end of the ceremony, as we sang Hatikvah, the Israeli National Anthem that I’ve sung many times before, I was overcome with emotion. Being surrounded by tons of Jews and non-Jews alike, I was reminded of my family’s past, the strength of my Saba and the ongoing process I experience establishing myself as a Jew. As I walked out of the ceremony, I put my arm around my Saba. With my broken Hebrew and the assistance of my aunt, I asked my Saba about his experiences during and after the War. I also asked him what allowed him to survive, amidst all of the adversities he faced. In his inspirational and empowering way he explained to me:

After the war I was depressed. But I knew that this mindset would kill me on its own. I knew that in order to survive the War I had to look forward. And that’s what I did. I created a family and now I have my own grandchildren. I volunteer regularly to give back to the community. For me, I care about future generations. I don’t want them to constantly have to fight to be Jewish like I had to. To stand strong is essentials. And that’s what I still do.

Never before having the language to tell him, I simply said, “I am so proud of you! You are truly an inspiration.” As I spoke tears swelled up in my eyes. But as my Saba taught me, you have to move on, look to the future and enjoy life with optimism. As I remembered this lesson, my tears dried.

     My time at Agahozo Shalom, a place where tears are dried, has taught me many things so far. One thing is just how important family and friends are to me. I was so fortunate to have had the opportunity to show my parents and brother my life in Rwanda and to share my experiences with my friends and family in Israel. Taking time away from the Village allowed me to gain perspective on the work that I do here and the impact that I have on the people here. I guess you can say that I’ve grown a lot already from my time here.

The Tayelet in Jerusalem (where I had my first steps). 

My Saba and cousins (Lilach, Omri and Maya). 

The Tel Aviv beach.