Yeloto Charity expands Its Impact to the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda

Charity begins at home and gladly does not stop there. Yeloto’s charity journey started years 12 years ago in Nigeria; with a visit to Makoko in Lagos, a poverty-ridden rural community. Yeloto has since been instrumental in notable infrastructure revamps in some charity homes and donations towards the surgery and other medical needs of children in public hospitals among others. It has also taken the team led by Dr. Yemi Olawaiye to some other parts of Africa.

In December 2022, Yeloto berthed on the shores of Rwanda; at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, Kigali. On arrival Yeloto team was immersed in Rwandan hospitality; the warmth of the host and the ambiance were endearing.

“The 2-hr drive from Kigali to Agahozo-Shalom was smooth and fun; it elicited hope that Africa can be great, and organized and it gave a taste of Rwandan civilization. The greenery was reinventing and the air, was fresh, as the facility is bordered by a lake separating Rwanda from Burundi”, said Dr. Yemi Olawaiye.

The Village Square

Yeloto team was conducted around the facility by the Agahozo-shalom team led by Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, the facility manager. The tour started at the village square where according to Jean- Claude was the place where the Founder, Anne Hayman negotiated with Ninety-Six families to secure the 154-hectare land on which the facility was built.

At the end of the tour, Dr. Yemi Olawaiye remarked that Agahozo-Shalom is an inspiring facility with all that young minds needed to build a preferred future; it had middle-class family homes, the village square, health, and wellness center, sports field, science, and art centers.

“Every family was headed by a mum and a dad, and it was humbling to realize that some people didn’t quite have anyone to call mum and dad until they came to the youth village. Agahozo- Shalom made that happen for its orphans. The expansive facility is home to five hundred (500) Orphans whose talents are being sharpened and showcased at the weekly event branded, Village time.”

Village Time

The Village time was an exhibition of creative displays. Resident young people performed different arts excellently; dance, fashion parade, music, poetry, plays, etc. It holds weekly at the Amphi theatre.

“In the course of these creative performances, the representatives of Yeloto Inc. took the stage and made its donations to Agahozo-Shalom, to support the work being done to ensure that the youth can continually see far so that they can go far, according to the village’s mantra. The youths were glad that some other Africans also cared for their well-being and would support their growth process”, Dr Yemi Olawaiye noted.

Final bit

The 2-day visit ended on Saturday, with a Yeloto Inc. sponsored training. While Dr. Ubong Udoyen shared insights on mental health with the young minds, Dr. Fowobi Gbadebo, trained the staff, counselors, and psychologists of Agahozo-Shalom on the use of relevant clinical skills needed to help the young minds cope with mental health issues, PTSD and other ravaging psychological challenges that young people deal with in their journey to Adulthood.

A member of the Yeloto Inc. team, Dr. Evans Imafidon said that he was particularly excited by the quality of engagement of the young people as they asked intelligent questions during the training.

“Rwanda and her people should be studied by the world in general and Africa in particular and I am hopeful of Africa today because of the children”, he said

Commenting on the visit, Ike Ewuzie said that participating in the mental health lecture was inspiring.

“I love the way the kids engaged with Dr. Ubong Udoyen and Dr. Fowobi Gbadebo, the questions and feedbacks were impressive, the leaders of Agahozo-Shalom were brilliant, we felt welcomed”, he said.

Dr. Christian Bannerman, a board member, and an emergency room physician also chimed in and said,

“The people of a country make the country, being here makes him think of a quote” Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”- Søren Kierkegaard”.

Rwanda shows the world regardless of the history of a people, with honesty, hard work, and good leadership we can progress and move forward. A lesson to the rest of the continent and the world at large.

It was a great experience for both Yeloto Incorporated and Agahozo- Shalom Youth Village teams. While Yeloto was represented by Dr. Yemi Olawaiye, Dr. Evans Imafidon, Dr. Henry Ajibowo, Dr. Fowobi Gbadebo, Dr. Ubong Udoyen, Ike Ewuzie, and Temi Ofuya.