Immaculée Ilibagiza, Author and Motivational Speaker, New York, NY

Born and raised in a small village in Rwanda, Immaculée Ilibagiza enjoyed a peaceful childhood with her loving parents and three brothers. She attended the National University of Rwanda to study electrical and mechanical engineering. While visiting her family on Easter break in 1994, Ilibagiza’s life was completely transformed. On April 6 of that year, the Rwandan President’s plane was shot down over the capital city of Kigali. This assassination of the Hutu president sparked months of massacres of Tutsi tribe members throughout the country.

Immaculée found shelter at a pastor's home, where she and seven other women hid in a small 3x4 foot bathroom for 91 days. Filled with anger and resentment, Immaculée turned to prayer using the rosary beads that her devout Catholic father gave her before she went into hiding. This was a turning point in her life. In addition to finding peace, she also taught herself English using only a Bible and dictionary. When Immaculée was finally liberated from her hiding place, she weighed only 65 pounds and found her entire family had been brutally murdered, with the exception of one brother who was studying abroad.

In 1998, Immaculée emigrated from Rwanda to the United States. She worked for peace through the United Nations and shared her story of survival with co-workers and friends who had encouraged her to write about her experience. Immaculée’s first book, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (2006), became a New York Times bestseller, sold over 2 million copies, and has been translated into 20 languages. Her story has also been made into a documentary titled, The Diary of Immaculée (2006).

Immaculée has received five honorary doctoral degrees and published multiple books about her faith and her life. Today, she is regarded as one of world's leading speakers on faith, hope and forgiveness. She has shared this universal message with world leaders, school children, multinational corporations, churches, and at events and conferences around the world, including a presentation to over 200,000 people in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A major motion picture version of  her story is scheduled for international release in 2022.