Jewish Values in Action, Helping Rwandan Genocide Orphans with JC Nkulikiyimfura
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt
Jonah Platt
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2025
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this uplifting episode, Jonah speaks with Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, the Executive Director of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwanda. ASYV was founded to support orphans of the Rwandan genocide, providing a holistic education model rooted in Jewish principles like Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and Tikkun Ha Lev (repairing the heart). Jonah has a personal connection, having volunteered there soon after college.
Jean-Claude (JC) and Jonah discuss the Youth Village's success in preparing students for adulthood, which a recent Tulane University study highlights with impressive outcomes, including high rates of college placement and employment. The conversation covers impactful initiatives like the Inheritance Theater Project, which empowers young women, and the broader context of societal healing in post-genocide Rwanda. Jean-Claude also shares his personal experience as a refugee and details the future vision of ASYV, including the "Anything is Possible" campaign aimed at sustaining and expanding their vital mission.
The conversation covers:
- The Founding and Mission of Aga Shalom Youth Village
- Welcoming the Executive Director: Jean Claude's Journey
- Jewish Principles and the Vision for A SYV
- The Impact of A SYV: Programs and Success Stories
- Tulane University Study: Proving the Concept
- Scaling Deep: The Future of ASYV
- Gender Equity and the Inheritance Theater Project
- Rwanda's Transformation: From Genocide to Progress
- The Anything is Possible Campaign
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Mentioned In The Episode:
JC socials:
The Anything is Possible Campaign at ASYV
Ann Heyman, Founder of Agahzo-Shalom
ASYV Study with Tulane University
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Shalom, Kavarim, Banot, and welcome to another very special episode of the world's number one Jewish podcast. |
| 0:08.1 | I have to ask for a small favor. |
| 0:10.4 | As an independent show, we don't have a massive marketing machine behind us. |
| 0:14.6 | Our growth is purely organic, fueled by dedicated viewers and listeners like you. |
| 0:19.5 | So if you would be so kind, please take 30 seconds, |
| 0:24.0 | head over to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, find this show, and leave me a five-star rating and a short |
| 0:30.0 | written review. I love seeing all of your thoughtful and generous feedback. Some of it has even |
| 0:35.0 | made it onto the show and may again. And as of this recording, |
| 0:38.7 | we are just eight ratings away from hitting 500 on Apple. Crossing that threshold would be a huge |
| 0:44.3 | milestone for us. It's a small mitzv on your part, but it really is the fuel that allows us to |
| 0:50.0 | keep these amazing conversations going. So thank you in advance. |
| 0:55.9 | Unless you don't leave a rating, |
| 0:57.4 | in which case you're a butthead. |
| 1:00.3 | If you can save one person, you can save the world, |
| 1:01.8 | that is what we are looking for. |
| 1:04.2 | I think that's a big part of why Rwanda is thriving because they've made the choice to move forward |
| 1:06.5 | from the mistakes of the past. |
| 1:07.9 | It's a very hard ask for genocide survivors to forgive. |
| 1:15.9 | Welcome back to being Jewish 30-minute matches. Same vibe, same tribe, shorter episodes. Back in spring of |
| 1:22.7 | 2009, I was nine months into my first post-college Hollywood job as a driver, where I'd pick up TV showrunner Greg Daniels from his house, drive him to the office, where they shoot the office. |
| 1:34.4 | Then I'd sit around doing nothing until he was ready for me to drive him to the CBS lot where he was helping set up parks and recreation. |
| 1:41.1 | I'd sit around there for the rest of the day doing nothing, and then I would drive |
... |
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