FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 18, 2008
CONTACT: Elizabeth Fischtziur - (425) 352-3636 - efischtziur@uwb.edu
BOTHELL, Wash. - The University of Washington Bothell will host international human rights activist Gasana Mutesi on May 5 as she visits the Seattle area to speak on peace and reconciliation work in Rwanda.
Mutesi is President of Amani Africa, a grassroots organization based in Kigali, Rwanda whose mission is to promote peace and reconciliation by helping street children and orphans. In working for this cause for 10 years, she has become one of the most influential human rights activists in the region.
Mutesi is traveling to the United States during April (and early May), a month in which Rwandans remember the victims of the 1994 genocide. Fourteen years after the atrocities that killed nearly one million people, Rwanda is now hailed as a model of post-conflict reconstruction in Africa. While the government has been praised for its commitment to bringing about peace and stability in a war-torn region, it is, arguably, the grassroots leaders, like Mutesi, who have made this transition possible.
During Mutesi's presentation, she will discuss her personal experiences as an activist in East Africa and how the activities of Amani Africa have engaged over 5,000 orphans and street children, creating opportunities for their future. Her presentation can help the public understand the intricate roots of conflict in Africa and how young grassroots leaders are working together to promote peace in a region that has been devastated by poverty and civil war. Her efforts serve as an inspiration for young human rights activists.
Mutesi's U.S. speaking tour runs from March 30-May 18 with stops in New York City, Washington D.C., Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Seattle. The public is invited to Mutesi's presentation at UW Bothell on Monday, May 5, 3:30-5:00 p.m. in UW2-005. (Prior, Mutesi will present at UW Seattle on Thursday, May 1, 3:30 p.m., in the Allen Auditorium.) For more information on Mutesi's schedule, contact Elizabeth Davis, 813.624.3551.
To learn more about Amani Africa and their outreach efforts, visit www.africagrassroots.org.
About Gasana Mutesi: Gasana Mutesi was born in a refugee camp in Uganda, after her family was forced to flee from Rwanda due to the persecution of Rwanda's Tutsi minority. She attended school in Tanzania and Kenya, with her family returning to Rwanda less than a year after the Rwandan genocide killed nearly one million people in the span of one hundred days. Shortly thereafter, both of her parents were killed by the Interahamwe, the rebel Hutu militia, leaving Mutesi in charge of her 5 younger siblings at the age of sixteen.
Mutesi received a scholarship to the prestigious Kigali University of Science and Technology and attended classes while also working to support her siblings. During this time she became very involved in human rights projects throughout the country and was one of the youngest women elected to the National Youth Council.
In 2001, Mutesi began volunteering with Charles Nkazamyambi, a former Burundian Olympic athlete who was forming sports teams for street children in Kigali. Today, over 5,000 children in both Rwanda and Burundi participate in their activities on a weekly basis. Mutesi and Nkazamyambi, now married and owners of a Kigali orphanage, have built an organization of over 70 young Rwandan volunteers who coach and mentor these teams every week. Their activities have expanded to include traditional dancing, drumming and singing clubs, which perform at schools and events around the region. Regular conferences and workshops on human rights and peace-building are organized to bring together teenagers from Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mutesi is a founding member of the Network for Advocacy for Action and Sustainable Peace (NAASP). She was selected to participate in the internationally acclaimed Women Waging Peace module, which trains women to be leaders in the human rights. Most recently she worked for the National Institute for Statistics before focusing full-time on Amani Africa.
About UW Bothell: The University of Washington Bothell was founded in 1990 to serve King and Snohomish counties and north Puget Sound area students seeking bachelor's and master's degrees. UW Bothell offers degree programs in applied computing, business, nursing, education, computing and software systems, interdisciplinary arts and sciences, cultural studies, and policy studies.
