Immaculee Ilibagiza

Giving a speech (www.googleimages.com (Amherst College))

My hero is Immaculate Ilibagiza. Immaculee inspires me because she has been through so much more than I could imagine going through while staying strong, faithful, and most of all forgiving. And she's not an ancient saint we only hear about in stories; instead she is a saint who living through today's crazy world. Immaculee's story is one that all girls should hear and learn from.

in native clothing (www.googleimages.com (google))

Immaculee Ilibagiza was born and raised in Rwanda, Africa. In Rwanda, there were two tribes; the Hutus and the Tutsis. These tribes had tension between each other and Immaculee was a Tutsi. In 1994, when Immaculee was 22, the Hutus turned on the Tutsis and slaughtered the vast majority of them over a 100 day period in what is called the Rwandan Genocide. During the genocide, Immaculee stayed in a tiny bathroom with seven other women for 91 days. Meantime, all of Immaculee's friends and family were killed. So, pretty much over a course of 91 days, everything and everyone she had ever known was lost forever.

Immaculee Ilibagiza (www.googleimages.com (google))

The fact in itself that Immaculee went through the Rwandan Genocide isn't what inspires me though. What inspires me is that she came out of it stronger in her Catholic faith than ever. She forgave everyone and went on to be an amazingly influential character for the world. Today Immaculee lives in America, but travels the globe giving inspiring speeches on faith and forgiveness. Immaculee inspires me to try to be closer to God and do more for the people around me.