The Ishami Foundation connects schools with survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda who can provide talks or workshops tailored to their needs.

Our survivors have extensive experience giving extended school assemblies and talks to whole year groups or individual classes. Talks usually last 45-60 minutes followed by questions.

Survivors usually focus on their personal experiences of genocide. This typically includes: polarisation and the build up to genocide, surviving violence, the loss of family members and friends, the aftermath of genocide, different forms of justice, moving to another country, resilience and reconciliation.

We always discuss audience and school requirements in advance in order to tailor the story to your needs. For example, whilst the discussion of sexual violence might be appropriate with sixth formers we wouldn’t talk about it in a whole school assembly.

Workshops explore both the survivor’s story and further historical and contemporary examples, with a particular focus on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. They seek to strengthen young people’s resistance to divisive rhetoric and radicalisation by helping them to recognise the processes that lead to prejudice, extremism and identity-based hatred. Through interactive exercises and role-play the students learn that anybody can be vulnerable to extremism and that extremism is not a phenomena particular to any culture, region or religion.

Workshop participants are shown that around the world there have always been people who have stood up against prejudice and extremism. The students are encouraged to think about the motivations of individuals from history who rejected hatred and instead fought to protect the rights of others. Participants are challenged to be critical thinkers who question divisive information and always try to recognise the processes that lead to division – making the active choice to stand up against them.

Our work with schools enriches and informs:

• Study of the Holocaust and more recent genocides as specified in the Key Stage 3 History Curriculum in England (Year 9, age 13-14)
• Discussion of what it means to be an active citizen, the dangers of political polarization and intolerance, and the role of rescuers and resisters in preventing genocide
• Understanding of how critical thinking and standing up to violence inform our lives at all stages across the world

We find schools 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, 17-23 June 2019
• 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 schools 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 currently fundraising so that we can provide survivor speakers for the UK’s most financially disadvantaged schools for free.

Total costs of programmes vary depending on the number of facilitators required and the school’s location. Please get in touch so that we can discuss your requirements.

To book a survivor speaker to talk at your school please fill in this form.

We will discuss how to prepare for a talk and arrangements on the day when we confirm the booking.