Saying Goodbye

I'm now back in Georgia. I'm as surprised as most of you. It was not planned but because of some health issues, this is what I needed to do. It was so difficult to tell my family and the farm workers goodbye, eventhough I hope to see them soon.

I left on Friday so on Thursday night, I got together with the farm workers and my family. I had a little party with the farm workers and told all of them that I would be going home for a bit.

They were very surprised and 2 of them ran off and bought me a gift.

The hardest part was the goodbye to the girls in my family.

I was a bit teary eyed. I tried not to be too serious and have a good night. Family time lasted an extra hour as we said our goodbyes. I went around and told all the girls what "gifts" each of them gave to me in our time together. I have to say that I learned so much from them and that night it helped me to realize all those gifts.

My New Friends

I walked to the farm and found a mommy and 3 baby goats. I asked Salomon where they came from and he told me that he got them for me. I have been talking for months about how I want to have my own goats....what a wonderful surprise!!! They're so cute.

Attack of the Parasites...again

I started to feel bad on Wednesday. I know my body well enough that I can tell if something is wrong. I thought maybe I had amoebas again. On Thursday, I went to get a poop test at the clinic in the local village. The technician was able to find the results pretty fast. I don't have amoebas but 3 other types of parasites. The nurse at ASYV told me that I have a farm growing in my stomach with all types of plants and animals. So now I'm talking some pretty strong medicines to try and kill everything that's trying to invade my stomach...hopefully a healthy stomach will pervail!

While I was at the local clinic, I had a situation that made me think and question my role as a western living in Rwanda. I still don't know that best way to handle the situation. Even after living in Rwanda for a year, I'm always sure how to best deal with tough questions. Poverty is something that troubles many people here. I even have close friends that struggle with the hardships. I'm very thankful to ASYV for helping some of the poorest of the poor living in the local community to get jobs that allow their families to eat everyday and provide education for their children. The students at ASYV are not the only success story of the village...it's also the workers and the people they support. I've become close to the farm workers. Many of them are like family to me. I can see the positive impact the village has had on them and it makes me happy. To give a man a job, I have learned is one of the best things that you can do!

So now back to my encounter at the local clinic. I was paying for the parasite test when I was approached by a woman. The test costs the equivilent of less than a dollar. For me, this is something that I can easily pay. The woman took me to the side and began to speak to me in Kinyarwanda. I knew gist of what she was saying, but asked my friend who's the director of the clinic. She was explaining that she's poor and wants helping paying medical bills. I'm constantly asked for money. I never know how to react. I want to give to everyone but know it's not possible. I know that I can't solve all the problems in the world but I would like to try. I know this is just not possible. I struggle with the fact that I was born in a way that allows me to eat when I want and get the best medical attention when I need it. This is not the reality for some of my neighbors living in Rubona. How do you react to this? What's the best thing to do?

Happenings these Days

Here are somethings tha I have been doing these days:

Team Rwanda made it to the final for under 17 boys soccer. I went to the final with Burkina Faso with some friends and had a great time. We sat with the Rwandan fans and cheered so much. Unfortunetly they lost 2-1.

I attended a seminar where we were mapping the value chain for the poultry industry in Rwanda led by the UN's Food and Agriculure Organization. It was a great 2 days and I had the opportunity to meet all the leaders in Rwanda involved in chicken businesses.

I love spending time with the girls in my family. This was a great Sunday afternoon spent hanging out.

Mango Madness

These days, the girls in my family have been very stressed and have been experiencing some difficulties in our family. I'm been trying to spend some quality time with the girls and help them through this difficult time. Yesterday was Heroes Day in Rwanda. It's a national holiday in Rwanda when everyone remembers the heroes in their life. For Heroes Day, each family was to choose the student in the family that's the hero of the family. The goal of the morning was for each family to choose the person that they see as the best leader in the family and why. I decided to do something a little different with the girls in my family. We have no counselor and my house mother needed to take care of something. I took them on a walk.

I met up with the girls in my family after breakfast. We then moved to the flag pole behind the dining hall. There we talked about the plan for the walk. Before we left, I taught them a song in hebrew...Hine ma Tov. The meaning to the song is how good is it for us to be able to sit together. I thought that this was very signifigant for the family. They really enjoyed the song. We sang it with clapping and some sang na na. We then continued to walk. They walked in groups discussing first what it means to be a leader and then they talked about someone in their lives that's a good leader and a hero for them. Our walked ended at the secret mango trees behind the school. Everyone ate sooooo many mangos! It was awesome and the girls were so happy. Everyone had beautiful mango smiles will the mango strings stuck in their teeth!

The Power of the Sun

The village is installing solar powered lights! The most exciting part is that it’s generating lots of questions. As you know, my 2 favorite things to do are hanging out with my kids and spending time on the farm with the farm workers. I was working in the amashaza (my new favorite Kinyarwanda word which is peas) with 5 of the farm workers. They just installed one of the solar lights at the farm. As we were working, they asked many questions. They were asking if the light cost money. I explained that it is a onetime cost for the light but it doesn’t cost anything to run it. I explained to them how solar power works (thanks to my job at Teva!) and the power of the sun. I told them that the sun doesn’t ask us for any money and they thought it was funny. They asked if also use them in the United States. I explained about many of the technologies that are being used as alternatives to power plants. I talked about solar, hydroelectric, and windmills. The conversation turned to many other things. They had so many questions and were very interested to learn about these things. I told them about cars that are powered by vegetable oil. I told them that I have friends that go to restaurants, take the used oil from making french fries, and then turn it into something that can be used for fuel. It’s amazing how installing one light led to some many questions and such a great conversation. I think this is one of the best ways to learn by experiencing and then asking questions. Goooooo...SUN!!!!

Family Senghol with the Solar Panels

The Good Things in Life

These days I've been spending much of my time on the computer finishing reports from last year. I'm very close to finishing those reports and finally spending some good time on the farm. Yesterday was a fun day at the farm. I was taking the peas from their outer shell. It's a very theraputic task. I also spent some time in the chicken house. Today we're going to weigh 150 of the chickens. This should be interesting...I'm sure some funny pictures/movies will come out of it! Last Friday night we had a party with the farm workers...I think these nights will definitely be some of my best memories.
At the Farm Worker Dance Party
It's been so great to come back and be with the girls in my family. The counselor from my family is no longer here so I've been taking a larger role in my family. They are thinking so much more maturely this year. Last year in a family debate, they decided that there was no need for a student government. Now, they're wanting more of a voice in the village and keep coming up with great ideas.

Dear Loyal Blog Readers

Dear Loyal Blog Readers,

I know many of you can't get through a week without your weekly fix of Life at Agahozo Shalom. I want to apologize to all of you. It's been a rough month but now I'm back and ready to blog. Highlights include the kids returning!!!!! We also welcomed 128 new students. I attended my first Rwandan wedding. I wore traditional clothing. I also attended an agriculture training...it will have it's own blog soon.

The Joys of Life in Rubona

I'm been living in Rubona, Rwanda now for almost a year and with each day, I love it more and more! These days what's making me love it even more is that I'm able to experience it with all of the new volunteers. It's like seeing a place with new eyes! Rubona is the little village where Agahozo Shalom is located. It's surrounded by this little village. If you walk down a dirt road for about 20 minutes, you reach the center of Rubona where the market is located. Walking to the market is always an adventure. I have come to really enjoy it because I always see friends along the way...one of the farm workers, his wife, a brave child that I have become friends with, or someone that just wants to practice their English. The homes are usually made of mud or cement with the most manicured front lawns.

You can hear many children yelling muzungu, muzungu along the way. I have gone through phases about what I feel about being called this. Sometimes I'm frustrated because I just want to be able to walk on my way. These days I realize that they are showing excitement just I like I'm showing excitement for new people and things. Going to the market never gets old. I guess it's the same for them...seeing someone who is different must never get old. I am trying though to introduce myself and have them look at me in a different way. If they can call me by my name then we go from outsiders to friends.

I have gone twice now with the new volunteers. I'm enjoying showing them all of my favorite places and introducing them to my favorite vendors. I took them to the home of the nuns in the area to get some pineapple wine. When we got there, they had pineapple and passionfruit wine....yummy! Yesterday we bought mangos...omg, I think I'm in love! I almost named this blog the ode to the mango but I'm sure that will come soon as I continue to eat as many as I can handle.

Enjoying the flowers at one of the homes in Rubona (I was told to be a flower)

Nothin' Like Putting Things in Perspective

Today was the volunteer trip to Kigali. I missed the trip last year because I came late, so I was excited. Sometime between leaving a place called the UTC until we reached the Belgium Memorial and walking in a crowded part of town called Nyambirambo, I lost my phone. I was so frustrated and beating myself up over it. Right before I left the UTC, a friend even told me to be careful with my phone but I guess I didn't listen well enough. When I realized it was gone, I tried to call it and look in places where it may be left....no luck. I felt very distracted, hoping I would find it. I had so many numbers on the simcard of the phone. I think I was more upset loosing the simcard then having to pay for a new phone. After lunch we visited the Genocide Memorial. It's not an easy place to visit. There was so much hatred that became contagious throughout Rwanda during the time of the genocide. It made me think a lot about loss and that my phone didn't even mater in the scheme of things. There were many parts of the memorial that were difficult. There was a section devoted to children that touches deep. My phone just isn't that important. After the genocide, now there's so much hope, forgiveness, and strength amoungst the survivors. It's amazing to be a part of a village that's looking forward to a better future.

Looking Back at an Incredible Year!!!

It's amazing to me that my life path led me to Agahozo Shalom Youth Village. It's definitely not something that I had planned but I believe if you allow things to happen that sometimes they will surprise you in life changing ways. This year has definitely been life changing as any experience like this should, but Agahozo Shalom is more than that. I see people that are just there one day and see the impact that it has on them. Imagine kids who were not expecting to have such a bright future...that is truly life changing. I could go on and on with stories of the incredible impact that Agahozo Shalom has on its students and everyone who is involved with the project. Throughout my blog you can find many of those stories.
It cost over $4000 per student to get a great education, have 3 meals per day, access to many activities, and a safe home to go to each night. Please help support these kids have a brighter future. Any amount can help in the effort to educate orphan students in Rwanda.
Please help in the effort. I have a goal of raising $500 this holiday season. You can visit http://www.asyv.org/ to donate and help support these teens. Please email me at amyprice33@gmail.com if you plan to donate so I can send you a personal thank you and tell you how you're helping support an amazing organization.

A Day to Party

We started the day with a friendly football (soocer for those of you living in the US) game between the farm workers and landscaping workers. When I showed up to the field, all the workers were dressed in their finest clothes. I was surprised because I thought we were there to play football. They all looked so nice. Soon after I arrived, they all had on different attire and were ready to play. I even played in the beginning but gave up my spot to one of the workers. I became the referee. Some of the players have some great talent and others were funny to watch. In the end, the farm workers won!!! Go Team!!!

After the game there was a cook out planned. We were suppose to eat at 12 but it was 4 by the time we ate. It was fun waiting around with all the workers. We took lots of pictures. It was a great day to take a day off and party!

Coming to the End

Things are winding down at Agahozo Shalom. The kids left on Saturday morning, I've been been cleaning my room, and finishing up on my reports of the year. It's sad to see the kids go but I feel happy to be able to see them again next year. It's strange to be in the village without all of them. The kids are what really makes this place...the beautiful songs coming from the music center, the cheering from the sports field, and the laughter coming from the homes. This is what makes a village, the people that are apart of it. Today we have a party for the farm workers. I'm sure I have lots to say about it in my next blog. What I want to write about today is 2 events from last Thursday. There hasn't been internet so here's my time to write about it.

I wasn't feeling well last Thursday morning but heard there was a soccer game so I decided to see what was happening. I arrived at the field and saw house mothers and counselors facing off. We are working in the village to empower the females. I kept thinking to myself, what better ways to empower them than to see there mothers and counselors playing sports. I was very surprised by the strenghth and toughness of some of the house mothers. They really rocked the field. I was excited when I passed to one of the moms and she scored! What a great match. In the end, it was tied 1-1. Next year I hope to see more activities like this. I'd love to see a game of female staff against the female students!

On Thursday night, Micaela and I planned an end of the year celebration for our girls. We decided on a spa night. We hard nail polish, oatmeal face masks, magazines, lotion for hand massages, music and m&m to enjoy. We started the spa night talking about inner beauty and that each have given us so much this year. We had papers around the room with each person's name and it said is special because... All the girls signed each others. The night was a big success with each of the girls having a great time. At the end, they thanked Micaela and I and gave each of us a gift.

They're Finally Here!!!!

After months and months of preparing, learning, and buying supplies I'm very happy to report that last night at 6pm 1299 very happy chicks arrived at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village! They are eating, drinking, making lots of noise, and playing with each other...they are overall enjoying their new home!

Importance of Relationships

I’m so lucky to have the best parents in the world. I feel that they raised me with a great set of values. One of the most important lessons that I was taught was the importance of creating relationships with people. My dad many times would tell me this while giving example of how connections with people will help you in everything that you do. He has been successful in his career because of the relationships that he has created over the years. My mom just by the way she lives demonstrates this. I can remember as a young child being reminded of this. My parents would encourage me to make my own phone calls and always remind me to ask people how they are doing. These lessons have really paid off in my time here. I’m realizing that many of my success here have come from fostering relationships. Many of the times luck brings me to the right people but it’s the relationship creating that helps in the improvement and growing of the farm. I realized how incredible this has been for me here when I got a call this morning. At Hash I met this man who works for the Ministry of Agriculture. We became friends and I kept encouraging him to visit the farm. Yesterday, he finally came and was very impressed! I got a call from him today inviting someone from the village to attend a 13 day seminar on greenhouses. The ministry is bringing someone from Belgium to teach the class….and the class is free! We’re getting 5 greenhouses so this will be very helpful. I realized that I would never have known about the class if I wasn’t encouraging my friend to come for a visit. Also in the chicken business, creating connections with people that have lots of knowledge in the area has benefitted our business tremendously. There are many other examples here and each one is allowing me to grow and develop.

Another Year

So, I’ve decided to stay another year. For those friends and family that I haven’t told yet, I’m sorry that this is the way that you’re finding out. I was not the easiest decision to make. I kept going back and forth weighting out all of my options and what would be best for me. I wasn’t sure if I made the right decision…would I regret it? Is it the right thing for me? In the past few weeks, I’ve been asking myself many questions about my future and which path is for me. Yogi Berra, the famous catcher once said when you come to a fork in the road, just take it! I’m taking my fork and running. I’m had a few instances lately that have reassured my decision.

On Saturday, I took the farm club on a trip. We left the village after the kids showed up 30 minutes late (we had a long talk about that). Our destinations for the day were some greenhouses and an organic training center. The kids loved it! They kept asking such great questions and just wanted to learn more and more. Many of them kept coming up to me and thanking me for bringing them on the trip. They got so much out of it and just want to learn more. This was so exciting for me. Next year a big part of my job will be agriculture education. 90% of this country is engaged in agriculture. We want to teach our kids advanced skills to allow them to have useful abilities and knowledge for the future. They said that they want to visit the places again to learn more. I want to incorporate those things into our farm so that all the kids don’t have to travel far to learn. Before and after the trip, many other kids have come up to me asking to me in farm club for next year.

Monday was my last time teaching yoga to a group of girls. I tried to make the class fun and also teach them how yoga can benefit their lives. I wasn’t sure what they thought. For the last class, I let each of them lead their favorite pose for the group. Everyone was excited to lead a little part of the class. At the end, I asked them what they thought about yoga and how it can benefit their lives. They said many ways that they feel that it will benefit them.

These are 2 of the reasons that I want to stay another year, to bring more farm education to the village and work with students to find better ways to manage their stress, anger, and emotions.

This Weekend

This was a great weekend. Many weekends I feel pulled in many directions. I want to go and visit friends in Kigali but sometimes I have guilt for not staying with the kids. This weekend was a great balance…something that I work every day to achieve.

On Friday I traveled around Kigali with the director, Nir, Salomon, and the man who work with the chickens, Alfred. Our mission was to look at some chicken operations around Kigali. We visited 2 different places. Our first stop was to the ministry of agriculture. We met up with a man there and traveled 5 minutes to the National Hatchery. There were no chickens there but we got a tour and had the opportunity to learn many things. I was most interested in learning about their bio-security measures. I got some great ideas and useful information. Our next stop was the largest chicken business in Rwanda. I was shocked. The places smelled horrible (I surprised none of the workers passed out) and the birds all looked so sickly. Sometimes you can learn more from how not to do it…this was definitely the case here.

There was no running or farm on Saturday morning. Instead we prepared ourselves for a picnic! We got on the buses and headed to Seeds of Peace which is located on Lake Muhazi. It’s a beautiful place right on the water with a very large area to hang out. When we arrived, everyone went in all directions. Some went toward the lake, others enjoyed the swing, and some enjoyed just sitting down and relaxing. I found myself trying to enjoy everything and spend time with different students. Each family got to visit a replica of the king’s hut. We were shown all around and learned the history. The girls in my family loved taking pictures inside. After visiting the hut, I played frisbee with many of the kids. The big challenge was that the place to play was on a hill and some of the frisbees kept landing in the water.

Just before lunch I left the picnic and headed to Kigali. I got lucky because just as I walked outside, there was an express bus heading to Kigali. I arrived in Kigali just in time for my running group, Hash. The Hash was taking place at the Mutzig Beer Fest. The run was on top of a mountain where we could see all of Kigali. After the run, it was time for some good food, hanging out with good friends, beer (I’m getting so tired of the beer here), and lots of dancing! At the end of the night, I went camping with some friends at a place overlooking the entire city.

A Crazy Day in Kigali

Days in Kigali buying chicken food are never predictable. Sometimes we buy the things we need with ease and other times it’s a battle. The plan was to go on a Wednesday so I called the Monday before to check the prices of all the items. I wrote all those prices down, filled out a requisition, and got a check for all the ingredients. This sounds pretty easy right? All I need to do is take the money to the bank and then go to all those places and pay for the items…wrong…it was not nearly that simple.

I slept in Kigali the night before and then Salomon met me in Kigali the next day. I went to the bank and got the money…we were ready to begin. Our first stop was to buy indagara which is small fish from Tanzania. You can smell it from a mile away so we followed our noses. When we got there, I bargained hard for a better price. The price of indagara is very high these days which is raising the cost of the food. Finally I got a better price. We left it there and said we’d be back later to pick it up. Our next stop was the place where we get the majority of the ingredients. We arrived there and all of a sudden all the prices they told us from 2 days before were so much higher. This was the second time that they did this to us. I told them that they will lose our business because we need to find someone to rely on and that when we call we get the same price as when we arrive. The guy said well then go somewhere else…can’t you see what great customer service they have. I started to panic a little. I didn’t know of another place and I have 200 chickens to feed. We started asking around and finally someone pointed us in the right direction. Thank goodness the owner was there and agreed to give us good prices. He even promised to give us the price he tells us on the phone.

Before we could load, Salomon and I needed to find a truck. We arrived at the place with all the trucks and all the drivers there came running at me. They were pulling me in all directions trying to get me to use their truck. After a few minutes of being yelled at in Kinyarwanda and pulled around, I pointed at Salomon and said Salomon’s the boss! Everyone left me and attacked Salomon. I felt so relieved and a little sorry for him. Finally we had a truck! We went back to load up everything. They were missing one thing so we had to drive a little distance to find the last ingredient.

We went back to pick up the indagara and that’s when it got a little crazy. Everyone that I saw began demanding money from me. First the truck driver demanded more, saying that we didn’t agree on a fair price, then a man that was helping us asked for money after I already gave him some, and then the place for indagara wanted me to pay more. It was a little overwhelming all at once. There were even more instances of people asking and demanding money from me.

I decided that I need to learn how to say in Kinyarwanda, you’re taking money from orphan children!

Holiday Time

This year the holiday was celebrated differently than if I was in the states. All of the volunteers expressed what made the holiday special for them and we tried as best as we could to incorporate all of them to make the holiday meaningful. Some people wanted a tasty round challah, others a touching chol nidre for Yom Kippur, and still others a sukkah makes the holidays.



Rosh Hashana was spent in the village. I headed to the kitchen early the morning before to prepare the dough for the challot. It was a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. The highlight of Rosh Hashana was the delicious meal we all shared together. Everyone made such yummy food that made it really feel like a holiday...but of course I missed my mom's noodle dish that I love. Yom Kippur was spent in Kigali. I had a wonderful fish dinner for the pre-fast meal. One of the volunteers sang a very beautiful Kol Nidre. It felt very meaningful. That night I went camping with a friend and broke the fast on a meal that was cooked on a campfire.



Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays. I have great memories of decorating the sukkah is the parking lot of my synogogue at home. Since Sukkot is a harvest holiday and now I'm a farmer, it's even more significant. I even slept out in the sukkah. One of the highlights was sharing a meal in the sukkah with all of the farm workers.

Teaching Important Lessons

I think that I’ve taught many important lessons during my time in Rwanda. I taught a girl how to ride a bicycle and co-taught a family time on the importance of politeness. These are all very important but the one I taught yesterday has to be the funniest.

When you take the bus from Kigali to the village, you must get off at a place called Ntunga and then take a moto. When you get off the bus, the moto drivers swarm you hoping to get your business. I have a feeling that they don’t get much business so it’s a fighting match to see who can take people on their moto. It gets annoying having moto drivers following you and throwing their helmets in your face. One of my biggest frustrations is that most of the moto drivers have helmets that don’t even fit. As your riding, the helmet is falling in your face. It’s definitely a safety issue but I also just like to enjoy the view.

When I got off yesterday, one moto driver came after me. I needed to go in one of the store to buy something and he even followed me into the store. When I came out, I went over to where all the drivers were waiting. I tried on all of their helmets before selecting one of the drivers. Many people were looking on and laughing at the scene. They should learn. You need to have good helmets for passengers. The lesson didn’t stop here. On the moto drive to the village, the driver’s cell phone rang. He picked up the phone and began pressing buttons. He wasn’t even paying attention to the drive. I then reached over and took the cell phone out of his hands and said in English (which I know he didn’t understand) it’s not safe to use the phone and drive at the same time. It continued to ring and I refused to let him answer.

Moral of the story: Have a good helmet and don’t talk on the phone and drive.