Miracle in Kigali

Thursday, 8 December 2011

Miracle in Kigali tree at 50 Christmas Trees in a Church 2011

Here is a photograph of Illuminee with the Miracle in Kigali tree at 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, Dickleburgh, Norfolk. The Christmas tree festival, which runs until 11 December, is supporting Send a Cow http://www.sendacow.org.uk/, a UK based charity that helps African families grow enough food to eat, sell their produce and develop small businesses that last. The charity is active in Rwanda.

Christmas Trees of all shapes and sizes, some handmade featuring special seasonal messages, decorate the church, contributed to the event by local businesses and organisations and children’s groups. The event has a competitive edge, as each organisation that enters has the chance to win prize money in the visitors’ vote for the best trees. There is also a special award for the most innovative tree.

50 Christmas in a Church is being sponsored by Cherry Lane Garden Centre Pulham Market, Rosedale Funeral Home and TWP Designs.

Dickleburgh village is to the north of Diss, just off the A140, tel. 01379 854245, http://www.50christmastrees.com/.

Monday, 17 October 2011

Illuminee Nganemariya - The Guardian first person interview

This is a link to Henry Green's interview with Illuminee about how she wrote Miracle in Kigali to help rebuild her life http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/13/rwanda-genocide-survivor-book-rebuild

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Norwich Mind Festival of Cultures

There's a Miracle in Kigali and Rwandan food stall at Norwich Mind's Festival of Cultures, Saturday 13 August, 11.30am to 4pm, 50 Sale Road NR7 9TP.

Friday, 5 August 2011

Miracle in Kigali at Norwich Christian Resource Centre

Miracle in Kigali is now available at Norwich Christian Resource Centre http://www.christianbookshops.org.uk/norwichcrc.htm

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Norwich Evening News Roger: Genocide Baby

Link to Rowan Mantell's feature in the Norwich Evening News about Roger Nsengiyumva's return to Rwanda - Roger: Genocide Baby, BBC3 documentary, http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/norwich_teen_film_star_roger_confronts_killer_on_tv_1_960945

Roger: Genocide Baby - BBC 3 Director's Blog

Here is a link to the blog written by Nick Andrews, Director of Roger: Genocide Baby on the background to the documentary about Roger Nsengiyumva's return to Rwanda and how he used extracts from Roger's mum, Illuminee Nganemariya's book, Miracle in Kigali in the film - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2011/07/roger-genocide-baby-rwanda.shtml

This is a link to BBC News coverage about Roger: Genocide Baby http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14032554

Thursday, 7 July 2011

Roger: Genocide Baby - BBC3

Roger: Genocide Baby the BBC3 documentary about Illuminee's son Roger's return to Rwanda will be screened on BBC3 at 9pm on Wednesday 13 July, see
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012lttt.

Miracle in Kigali Introduction

Miracle in Kigali

How does it feel to wake up every single morning for over three months facing the prospect that you and your newborn baby will almost certainly be brutally murdered that day?

This was the experience of Illuminée Nganemariya, a young Tutsi bride, now living in Norwich, England. Yet by a seeming miracle Illuminee, and her son Roger miraculously survived the 1994 attempt by Rwanda’s Hutu extremists to wipe their Tutsi neighbours from the face of the earth.

Illuminée existed for 100 days in the living hell of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, after watching her husband being dragged away to be killed by friends who had celebrated their wedding with them a month earlier.

Then she embarked on a horrific journey through the barbaric holocaust with her newborn son strapped to her back. At any moment a wrong move would have seen them join the 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus who were murdered in three months - at a faster rate than the Nazis achieved in their industrial gas chambers.

One of Africa’s most beautiful and fertile countries, Le Pays de Mille Collines – The Land of a Thousand Hills – Rwanda descended into pre-historic savagery. Fired by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, the killers went about their work seemingly without remorse or mercy.

Friend murdered friend, slashing and cutting with machetes and bamboo spears. Thousands of women were casually gang-raped. Pregnant women had their unborn babies ripped from their wombs and smashed against the nearest tree or wall. ‘Lucky’ victims paid for a quicker despatch, courtesy of a bullet to the head.

Illuminée Nganemariya is a survivor. She has spent the last decade, living in Norwich, dealing with the trauma of her 100-day nightmare. She is believed to be the first survivor of the Rwandan genocide resident in Britain to tell a personal story of that experience. With the assistance of Paul Dickson, Illuminee has recounted her ordeal in this book to finally put the memory of those tragic events behind her.

It is one woman’s story of enormous personal courage and character -- but most of all it is testament to the indestructibility of the human spirit.

Miracle in Kigali, price £12 can be purchased via Paul Dickson Books www.pauldicksonbooks.co.uk/miracle-in-kigali ; also available as an ebook on all main ebook sites including Amazon.

Finalist in The Creative East Awards 2008 Best Factual Publication.