My name is Delphine Ingabire, I am a survivor of genocide against the tutsis which has erased more than a million people. Including my family.
After surviving this nightmare, I faced a very difficult and challenging life. Everything was so dark and new to me. I had lost my home, my family and the life I knew.
At some point I had to live in an orphanage. What kept me going through all of that was the need to make my mother proud. If anything, I wanted to live for her mother’s memory (who was also killed in the genocide). I wanted and still want that so much, that I vowed to use my pain as a way to reach out to others who are suffering.
In 2006 I relocated in The Netherlands where I started my life over.
I have been given an opportunity to pursue my dreams again. I studied international business management and did one year of humanitarian management at Stenden University.
For this reason, and as a humanitarian activist, I have established an NGO called Igire Foundation. The mission of this foundation is to empower women survivors of the genocide through modern agro business skill-building and micro credit finance. Starting in the village where my mother raised me.
I believe that when you empower women you empower the whole community!
