Events in the community offer survivors the chance to give their testimony to receptive audiences. It is encouraging and comforting to remember those who died during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda with others remembering their losses from other genocides and crimes against humanity.

Our speakers also explore lessons for today as we remember the past. Many of their stories are inspirational and offer ways to discuss resistance, resilience, forgiveness and healing.

We provide survivor speakers for a wide range of community events. These include, but are not limited to:

• Commemoration events organized by local councils
• Talks at faith centres such as churches, mosques or synagogues
• Talks at universities or centres for adult education
• Talks organized by special interest groups for their members
• Film screenings accompanied by a survivors talk
• Awareness raising sport-related events

We find community organisations often connect our talks with:

• Holocaust Memorial Day on (and around) January 27th
• Kwibuka – the Rwandan commemoration period from April 7th through to July
• Refugee Week, June 17th to 23rd 2019
• World Peace Day on September 21st
• The International Day of Genocide Awareness on December 9th

Please try to request a speaker at least a month in advance.

Because the Ishami Foundation doesn’t currently have core funding we ask event organisers to cover travel expenses and recompense survivors for their time. We ask for your support in this to make our programme as sustainable as possible and so that survivors don’t lose money by speaking through lost wages and/or childcare. However, we strive to keep costs as low as possible and are always willing to discuss how we can work together to find a solution when budgets are tight. Total costs depend on your location and requirements – please get in touch to discuss.

To book a survivor speaker to talk at a community event please fill in this form.

We will discuss preparations and arrangements on the day when we confirm the booking.