Join Immaculee Ilibagiza, Best Selling Author of the Internationally acclaimed book, Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust as she takes us on a journey Into the Heart sharing her personal story of survival and loss, forgiveness and healing and her experience of God during and after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. As one of world’s leading speakers on peace, faith,
and forgiveness Immaculee will share how she was able to find her faith even in the midst of terror and unthinkable pain, and most incredibly, committed herself to a life of peace, hope and forgiveness, even for those who had murdered her family.
Immaculee Ilibagiza, is regarded as one of world’s leading speakers on peace, faith, and forgiveness. She is the author of the internationally acclaimed books Left to Tell, Led by Faith and Our Lady of Kibeho. She has been recognized and honored with numerous humanitarian awards including: The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace and the American Legacy’s Women of Strength & Courage Award. Immaculée’s first book, Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (Hay House) was released in March of 2006. Left to Tell quickly became a New York Times Best Seller. To date, it has been translated into seventeen languages and has sold nearly two million copies. Immaculée’s story has also been made into a documentary entitled The Diary of Immaculée. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, The CBS Early Show, CNN, EWTN, CBS Evening News, The Aljazeera Network and in The New York Times, USA Today, Newsday, and many other domestic and international media outlets. She was recently featured in Michael Collopy’s Architects of Peace project, which has honored legendary people like Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.
Immaculée has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Saint John’s University, Seton Hall University, Siena College and Walsh University. She has been recognized and honored with numerous humanitarian awards including: The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace and the American Legacy’s Women of Strength & Courage Award.
Left to Tell has received a Christopher Award “affirming the highest values of human spirit,” and was chosen as Outreach Magazine’s selection for “Best Outreach Testimony/Biography Resource of 2007.” www.immaculee.com
“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn, tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” Indian Proverb
Join Host Tina Klonaris-Robinson and journey Into the heart as we celebrate the gift and beauty of the human spirit through the sharing of life stories. The stories expressed will inspire us to connect and evolve, reminding us of how powerful we are as human beings, especially in times of crisis or grief.
A single story can take an entire community to the ground or elevate it. We need to be told and to tell new stories that inspire the best qualities that we possess, and we need to be exposed to the stories of people from different backgrounds than our own so we can gain an appreciation and respect for our differences, as well as for our similarities. Stories connect us, people to people. They cross lands, oceans, and borders. They move us, shape us and create new worlds of possibility. Stories take us on a journey through the intimate life experience of another, and in the hearing we become a part of their lives. We are no longer strangers.
Tina Klonaris-Robinson is an inspirational writer and speaker, The Founder and Executive Director of The Meah Foundation and the creator of The Meah Story Bracelet Project. After the tragic loss of her second child, Meah, in 2006, Tina traveled to Rwanda with genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza and experienced the incredible power of sharing stories in the healing process. These stories had a profound impact on her character and her purpose, opening her heart and mind to new possibilities. Person to person connection through storytelling was the basis of discoveries about hope, faith, forgiveness, courage, and the seeds of greatness that live within every human being no matter what has happened to them or how difficult their lives have been. She believes in the power of storytelling to transform people’s lives, heal, promote understanding and connection between people, overcome differences, and prevent discrimination and violence. She believes that even through the very worst of life experiences, we can rise up, empowering ourselves and others with who we are and all that we can be. www.themeahfoundation.org