In the village we speak a lot about tikkun olam, fixing the world, and tikkun halev, fixing yourself. To me, they are unavoidably intertwined. When I came to Rwanda to do something good for the world, I got something for myself too.

One particular incident in April reminds me of the lessons I learned at the village. I was very preoccupied with planning and executing the large mural before our big inauguration ceremony. I ran around all day, covered in paint, and probably looking very busy. One afternoon a boy came over to me and asked if we could speak in private. We went for a walk and he said to me, “Tanya, is everything okay? You don’t seem as happy as usual, you seem very worried.”

Wow. I thought. I have been worried- but about all the wrong things!

That boy and I went on walks together and had meaningful conversations every Saturday until I left.

I am lucky to have had the opportunity to work with exceptional people, and to create many fantastic art projects and build up the art program in the village. As my time at the village drew to a close, my students asked me, how will we do art without you?

But the art is not in me, and it’s not in the other staff who will continue teaching.

The art is in each one of them.

Keep dreaming and creating and sharing the ideas only you have with the whole world.

Now, as I head back to St. Louis and then New York, where I will continue to paint the stories of those I met in Rwanda, and find new ways to spread color to new parts of the world, Rwanda and Agahozo Shalom will forever be a part of me. And as the painted walls will attest, I will always be a part of them as well.

Thank you for joining me on this amazing, art-filled journey!

Stay tuned to see my Rwanda-inspired artwork and hear the stories of Agahozo Shalom at a presentation coming soon.