Human rights activist to speak Thursday

She will share how she survived a massacre in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a 10-year-old and immigrated to the U.S. with her surviving family members. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for youth and seniors, and free for CSC students and employees. Contact the box office for tickets at 308-432-6207 or email: boxoffice@csc.edu.

Uwiringiyimana is the co-founder of the Jimbere Fund and the author of the memoir “How Dare the Sun Rise.” It tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, hope for the future, and how she overcame trauma through art and activism. Ticket holders will receive a coupon for free shipping and a 20 percent discount on purchase of the book at hc.com.

The book also details her family’s journey to the U.S. as well as challenges they faced in a refugee settlement after being uprooted following a massacre that killed 166 people including one of her sisters.

“Everyone looked like me where I came from. Coming to the U.S. made me confront race for the first time. As a kid, I never thought I would have to deal with that,” she said.

Uwiringiyimana, who has been in the U.S. for 11 years, lives in Rochester, New York, with her parents and five siblings. A Mercy College student in New York City, Uwiringiyimana has shared the world stage with other human rights activists such as Angelina Jolie, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Tina Brown. She also testified before the United Nations in 2014 at the request of Ambassador Samantha Power to plead with world leaders to act on the issue of Children in Armed Conflict.

“Advocacy has been my life for quite some time now,” she said of her public speaking engagements.