Over a million people were killed during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. 26 years later Rwanda is remembering the dead whilst dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. As the commemoration period begins, the whole country is under lockdown and many people are unable to work.

The Ishami Foundation is launching two campaigns this April.

• Messages of Hope from our 100 Stories to be shared on social media
• A fundraising campaign with Ibuka to support vulnerable survivors

Please share and support us with donations if you can.

Survivors find this time of the year hard. But this year it is much harder because many don’t have food to eat. The situation is particularly extreme for survivors because they lost most or all of their family members during the genocide. Who is left to offer support?

Having lived through genocide, survivors also have a great deal to share in terms of resilience and community mobilisation when faced with trauma, isolation and loss. But to lead they need your help.

The Ishami Foundation is collaborating with Rwandan Survivors’ organisation Ibuka to ask you to fund basic supplies for survivors and their dependents.  These include young people who are carrying memories of the genocide for the next generation: the peace-builders of the future.

Just £25 is enough to provide food for a family of three for a month. Please stand in solidarity with survivors today.

VISIT OUR GO FUND ME PAGE TO DONATE.

Every day during the first week of commemoration we will be sharing an image from the 100 Stories campaign.

Ishami co-founder Jo Inagbire Moys explains:

“Resilient is a word often used to describe survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi. But no one is born resilient – it’s something you learn. We lived through unimaginable horrors. We lost so much. We carry on because even in our darkest moment, hope came to us from the most unexpected places. From the neighbours and strangers who dared to help, to fathers and mothers who sacrificed all so we could live. Heroes who remind us that life is worth cherishing. That the worst circumstances sometimes inspire the greatest acts of love and community.

Kwibuka26 finds us in lockdown. We look on, waiting, grasping for that elusive hope. We remember the past and we remember that hope always comes. It’s what made us resilient.”

Please follow the rest of the campaign on Twitter and Instagram.