This post contains student writing.

For my independent project I took photos of all the children in AVEH. Our group leaders will print them and send them back to AVEH so that the photos can be hung in the rooms of all the children. I wanted to do this project because I had such an amazing connection with the children there and wanted them to have a photo to remind them of that time of their lives. At AVEH there are two groups:  the children who need a wheelchair to move around and the children who can walk without assistance.

I spent most of my time at AVEH with the mobile children especially with two girls named Sandirine, 13, and Kelia, 9 and a boy named Antwon, 26. During my time with these kids, I played, fed, helped teach, and held hands. The hardest part was trying to communicate and instruct the kids because of the language barrier and the fact that most of the children didn’t know how to talk. It was mostly sounds that were used for conversation and not words. I learned a lot about this minority in Rwanda that have been passed over and marginalized for most of their lives and how they are really good people. I also learned that people with a mental or physical disability still have feelings and can feel compassion and love.

–Alex

Leader Note: Because the children at AVEH are a particularly vulnerable population, we have not included Alex’s photos here, but check out other blog posts for some additional shots!