Rwandan Genocide Survivor to Share Story of Faith, Forgiveness - Postponed

Rwandan Genocide Survivor to Share Story of Faith, Forgiveness - Postponed

Published
  • Immaculée Ilibagiza
  • Immaculée Ilibagiza

Immaculée Ilibagiza's lecture scheduled for Tuesday, February 18 has been postponed due to her canceled flight. The lecture has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 26 at 6:30 p.m in Olin B Lecture Hall.

In 1994 Immaculée Ilibagiza and seven women spent 91 days in a cramped room of a local pastor’s house in Rwanda. She entered the room a vibrant 115-pound university student with a loving family and emerged weighing just 65 pounds to find most of her family had been brutally murdered.

Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Rwandan genocide survivor, will share her personal story at Nebraska Wesleyan University’s Swan Lecture. 

 Ilibagiza credits her survival to her strong faith, which empowered her to forgive her mother and brother’s killer.

Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1998, she has authored the book, “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.” The book quickly became a New York Times best seller and has been translated into 15 languages. Her story has also been made into a documentary, “The Diary of Immaculée.” She recently signed a contract to produce a major motion picture about her story.

Ilibagiza has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Saint John’s University and Walsh University. She has been awarded numerous humanitarian awards including The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace; was a finalist for Belifnet.com’s “Most Inspiring People of the Year 2006,” and the recipient of the American Legacy’s Women of Strength & Courage Award.

Ilibagiza’s lecture is titled, "Story of Faith, Hope and Forgiveness."

The lecture is free and open to the public. Olin B Lecture Hall is located one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Ave.

The Swan Lecture was established to bring to campus scholars who emphasize the importance of the teaching of Jesus to our present and future civilization.

Watch live lecture.