erased

I returned to Columbia this weekend to attend a fundraiser dinner/silent auction for one of my mom's extracurriculars. The group is called Step Up! American Association for Rwandan Women. I am continually amazed by my mom and this group's efforts to establish a network of counseling and hope in Rwanda for those affected by the genocide. Béa Gallimore, a professor at MU, started the group after losing many of her family members in Rwanda. I believe she was in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) at the time. When she went back to Rwanda not only was her family absent, but the home they lived in was gone. She used the words, "They had been erased." Yes, erased. Those are pretty powerful words when applied to lives.

Joyce Leader, former ambassador to Rwanda, met Béa about 30 years ago in Africa. Leader came to address to crowd last night and support the grass roots efforts of Step Up! To find out more about Step Up!, visit their website. Another group doing grass roots work in Africa is called Netlife. Two SLU medical students travel to Senegal each summer and distribute bed nets to protect against malaria. To find out more, go to their website.