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| From First weeks at Agahozo Shalom |
The past three weeks at Agahozo Shalom have been jam-packed with games, sports, art, and music- summer camp style. I have prepared daily art activities which I share with the eight counselors (one for each house of sixteen kids) at a daily meeting. The counselors lead the kids in these activities while I hop from house to house, admiring the kids’ creativity and giving pointers on using materials and developing ideas (an important part of ASYV philosophy is building capacity in the Rwandan counselors to lead and run the programs).
On “Environment Day”, the kids created earth sculptures out of natural materials such as soil, sand, rocks, and grass. One group made a gorilla, one of the most prized Rwandan animals, and another made a traditional Rwandan shield to show that in their new home they are always protected. They made collages about themselves, imaginary creatures out of beads, wire, and cupcake holders (donated by Martha Stewart!), newspapers about the village, and friendship mobiles to hang in their homes. They also began to sketch ideas for a large wall mural that they will paint this month.
This week marks the beginning of school and with it the opening of the Art and
