Hotel Rwanda

Today I had the privilege of hearing Paul Rusesabagina speak on campus. I recently saw Hotel Rwanda and was impressed by the movies portrayal of Rusesabagina's bravery and composure in an immensely difficult and emotional situation.

If you are not familiar with the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1992, watch Hotel Rwanda or read AN ORDINARY MAN: An Autobiography. As for an insanely brief and inadequate summary:

Paul Rusesabagina managed to save the lives of approximately 1,268 friends, relatives and strangers by creating a safe but incredibly fragile asylum for them at the Hotel Milles Collines during the genocide. For 76 days, Rusesabagina used whatever resources he could find to prevent the hotel from being ambushed or destroyed completely.

I was amazed by 2 of his quotes:
"I'm not a hero. I'm simply a man who made a decision to hold on to my family, my life, and my beliefs until the end."

"Words are the most powerful tools of all, and especially the words that we pass to those who come after us…. We cannot change the past, but we can improve the future with the limited tools and words that we have been given."

Foundation
Mr. Rusesabagina spoke about his foundation and I thought I would share the link for anyone interested. The Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) provides support, care, and assistance to children orphaned by, and women abused during, the genocide in Rwanda. HRRF provides funding to reputable organizations to meet specific educational, vocational, mental health, medical and other social needs of identified orphans and women refugees.