Rwanda: Ava Holtzman donates $60K to ensure free education, all supports to vulnerable youth

Ava Holtzman through her organization Ava's Jammies has recently donated USD 60,000 in support of the vulnerable youth and those with special needs in Rwanda.

Ava first visited Rwanda in June 2009 when she was just 18 months old. Since that visit, she has developed a passion for Africa and mainly helping the orphans she met at such a young age. Ava, who has always loved pajamas, thought it would be a wonderful idea to design and distribute pajamas to children who needed them. At the end of a long day, she has always looked forward to changing into her jammies and relaxing in her 'comfy clothes'. She wanted to give other children the same, simple luxury. It is heart-warming to witness one child's uncomplicated idea for helping other children.

The first distribution of Ava's Jammies was in March 2014 at various orphanages in Kigali, Rwanda including the Gisimba Orphanage. The funds were raised and given to the Holtzman family's regular partner The Point Foundation.

The Point Foundation is a United Kingdom-based organization that gives all the efforts to develop the lives of orphans, vulnerable children and youth in Africa. It will work closely with Ubumwe Community Centre, a non-profit organization that supports orphans and youth with special needs, to distribute the funds through activities aimed at improving their lives, The New Times reported.

"Today I am proud, on behalf of my daughter, to handover the support and I am really inspired by Ava's idea. I hope this funding is going to be used to support the community to improve skills for employment and career development, and will be specifically focused on young people. We will keep funding more projects that support needy youth in the future. It is something that comes from my heart, inspired by my daughter Ava. Ava's message is that no child should be left behind and every child should have the same opportunities that she has," Ava's father, Mark Holtzman opined while handing over the support.

The support will start to benefit 45 students from Ubumwe Vocational Training Centre launched in Bugesera district in February, to offer free education, specifically to youth with disabilities and those from families ranked in the first and second Ubudehe Categories. The Centre is part of the 'Integrated Mwogo Development Program', a ten-year project being implemented by Ubumwe Community Centre in partnership with The Point Foundation.

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