This is an Ignite talk on a recent trip to Rwanda with Women for Women International. Ignite allows 5 minutes, 20 slides and 15 seconds per slide, auto advanced whether you're ready or not.

1. 1

2. I
had
always
wanted
to
go
to
Rwanda
ever
since
I
was
in
college
and
saw
the
movie,
“Gorillas
in
the
Mist”
about
the
mountain
gorillas
and
Dian
Fossey.
I
didn’t
get
the
chance
to
go
right
away
though,
and
later
chaos
and
war
erupted
in
the
region.
2

3. In
1993,
there
a
genocide.
The
scale
of
the
it
was
enormous—in
a
country
the
size
of
the
state
of
MassachuseIs,
800,000
people
were
killed
in
100
days.
The
country
was
leM
in
ruins.
3

4. When
Women
for
Women
InternaOonal
put
together
a
donor
trip
recently,
I
went
along,
This
group
helps
vicOms
of
war
get
back
on
their
feet.
In
Rwanda
alone,
they’ve
helped
40,000
women
and
they
have
programs
in
many
other
countries
as
well.
4

5. I
had
no
idea
what
to
expect
on
the
ground
there,
and
I
was
absolutely
unprepared
for
what
I
found
there.
I
knew
immediately
aMer
geRng
off
the
plane
that
something
was
different.
First,
there
was
no
trash
on
the
side
of
the
road;
for
a
developing
country
this
is
highly
unusual.
5

6. I
counted—it
became
my
personal
game.
In
2
weeks
of
traveling
all
over
I
counted
4
pieces
of
garbage.
What
I
did
see,
though,
were
fiber
opOc
cables
lining
the
countryside—from
border
to
border.
This
was
a
far
cry
from
the
devastaOon
I
expected.
6

7. But
there
were
reminders.
Every
village
has
a
memorial
commemoraOng
the
genocide.
This
church
in
Murambi
preserves
the
clothes
of
the
vicOms
to
serve
as
a
reminder
of
the
Ome
when
the
Hutus
killed
their
Tutsi
neighbors
and
friends.
7

8. The
Hutus
and
Tutsi
were
tribes
that
were
set
up
by
the
Belgians
in
the
1920s.
Prior
to
that
there
had
been
no
separaOon
in
the
country.
And
interesOngly,
though
there
was
no
foreign
aid
to
stop
the
genocide,
but
there
was
plenty
of
it
to
feed
it.
8

9. The
100
day
orchestrated
and
preplanned
blitz
was
further
fueled
by
the
government
and
hate
radio.
No
one
was
spared,
not
even
children.
9

10. I
could
not
wrap
my
brain
around
any
of
it.
How
people
could
do
this
to
each
other?
And
how
could
the
country
go
on
aMer
this
to
create
a
future—and
a
bright
future
at
that?
The
answer
begins
with
strong
leadership,
which
they
have
in
the
form
of
their
president,
Paul
Kagame.
10

11. However,
the
credit
is
also
due
to
the
hearts
of
the
Rwandan
people.
Their
naOonal
goal
is
reconciliaOon.
Instead
of
revenge,
they
are
seeking
forgiveness
with
a
vengeance.
They
will
seIle
for
nothing
less.
First,
though,
jusOce
had
to
be
served.
Many
perpetrators
are
in
jail
now,
although
not
all
of
them.
11

12. The
words
Hutu
and
Tutsi
are
now
banned
in
the
country,
and
the
people
live
and
work
side
by
side
rebuilding
their
country.
12

13. I
realized
in
Rwanda
that
I
don’t
know
anything
about
forgiveness
because
I
haven’t
experienced
the
unforgiveable.
Maybe
only
when
you
cross
that
brink
do
you
get
to
understand
what
really
lies
within
the
human
heart.
13

14. It’s
not
complete
and
it’s
not
perfect
and
it
may
never
be,
but
as
with
anything,
maybe
it’s
not
necessarily
the
aIainment
of
something
you
seek
that
lightens
your
load,
but
the
progress
towards
it.
14

15. We’ve
all
probably
thought
at
Omes
that
if
we
can
just
be,
or
do,
or
have
more,
that
will
make
us
happy.
But,
as
we
all
know,
that
lasts
about
a
minute
if
we’re
lucky
before
we
have
to
have
something
else.
This
is
a
typical
village
house.
But,
the
owner
could
not
be
more
proud
or
happy.
15

16. She
is
a
recent
graduate
of
the
Women
for
Women
InternaOonal
year
long
program.
She’s
now
a
business
woman
and
she
can
send
her
children
to
school,
finally.
16

17. 95%
of
the
graduates
are
now
able
to
send
their
kids
to
school.
The
training
consists
of
not
only
vocaOonal
training,
but
they
also
learn
life
skills,
including
what
their
rights
are
as
women
and
as
ciOzens.
Many
have
had
no
idea
about
this,
and
learning
it
seems
to
empower
them.
17

18. Every
woman
at
the
graduaOon
ceremony
took
out
her
bank
book
to
show
her
progress,
beaming
with
pride
at
page
aMer
page
of
10
cent
deposits.
They
couldn’t
wait
to
show
us
what
they
had
accomplished.
18

19. It
seems
like
so
liIle
but
it
adds
up
to
so
much.
When
a
child
can
go
to
school
it
changes
the
village.
When
each
village
spends
a
half
a
day
cleaning
each
month,
soon
the
country
is
prisOne
and
the
people
have
great
pride
in
it.
19

20. My
struggle
was
to
realize
that
my
small
contribuOon
maIered
in
the
face
of
such
extreme
poverty.
When
people
know
that
others
care—that
we
know
what
happened-­‐-­‐it
helps
them
heal.
20

21. This
is
what
I’m
passionate
about-­‐-­‐the
indomitable
human
spirit
that
can
overcome
seemingly
anything
and
rise
above.
21