Finding Hope in Rwanda

posted January 2, 2025 by Danielle Schultz, Marion Lemesh Fellowship Recipient

It’s been a dream of mine to visit Rwanda since I was 18 years old. During my gap-year program in Israel, one of the many opportunities offered was a trip to Rwanda to learn about the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and visit the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV). This village, created in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, was modeled after communities in Israel that supported and raised orphans of the Holocaust.

Although I was unable to join the trip during my gap year, I hoped to one day visit the village and witness its beauty firsthand. Thanks to the Marion Lemesh Fellowship, I was able to travel to Rwanda with JDC Entwine in November 2024 and experience the village for myself.

After my gap year in Israel, I decided to stay and make Aliyah. I have been living in Israel for just over six years and have been a citizen for a little over five. This past year, however, has been by far the most difficult since I arrived. While there have been moments when the country felt united, there have been far more moments of division. Moments of hope have been overshadowed by despair. Traveling to Rwanda, I knew I would feel strong emotions—pain, empathy, and anguish—especially as the recent horrors of October 7th weighed heavily on my mind, making another nation’s tragedy feel even more immediate and personal. What I didn’t expect was the peace of mind that the Inside Rwanda trip would bring me.

The first two days of the Entwine trip were spent in Kigali, where we learned in depth about the Rwandan genocide and got to know one another. Each museum and memorial brought up difficult emotions, as I struggled with seeing images that felt all too familiar.

As we continued our trip, we met more and more Rwandans who were willing to share their stories and perspectives. From tour guides to students in the village, people spoke about both the past and present with incredible optimism. They shared family stories, neighbors’ stories, and their own personal accounts. They spoke of how forgiveness and love were essential to rebuilding and uniting the Rwandan people after the genocide. Each story gave me a glimmer of hope for what I believe Israel can become.

However you choose to interpret the Rwandans’ message—politically, religiously, or otherwise—it offers hope that we too can one day find a way to live in peace. Despite our differences, we are one nation: Am Yisrael. While I anticipated learning and having my beliefs challenged during my trip to Rwanda, I did not expect to return with such an optimistic outlook on Israel’s future. This experience was truly life-changing, and it is only because of the Marion Lemesh Fellowship that I was able to discover this sense of hope in Rwanda and bring it back with me to Israel. For that, I am forever grateful.

The Marion Lemesh Fellowship, endowed in memory of Marion Lemesh z”l, is designed to strengthen links between communities around the world by providing young adults the experience to travel, learn, and explore the world in an impactful and meaningful way.