Stephanie Nyombayire
Encyclopedia
Genocide Intervention Network
thumb|right|300px|Genocide Intervention Network logoThe Genocide Intervention Network is a non-profit organization that "envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities...
and a Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n native. She graduated from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Swarthmore was originally named Westdale in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to Swarthmore after the establishment of Swarthmore College...
in June 2008.
Stephanie lost dozens of her family members in the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
in 1994, although she herself was not in the country at the time. As a result, she felt particularly attuned to situations of genocide, and in 2004, joined with Mark Hanis
Mark Hanis
Mark Hanis is the Co-Founder, Board member, & Founding President of United to End Genocide , an organization created with the mission to empower citizens and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. Hanis graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in Political Science and a...
and Andrew Sniderman to form the Genocide Intervention Network to advocate for intervention in the Darfur conflict
Darfur conflict
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...
in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
In 2005, Stephanie was asked to introduce President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
at the 2005 Campus Progress
Campus Progress
Campus Progress, launched in February 2005, is an American non-profit organization that promotes progressive political and social policy through support for student activists and journalists on college campuses in the United States...
National Student Conference on behalf of GI-Net. Highlighting Clinton's apology for the world's inaction during the Rwandan genocide, Nyombayire encouraged the audience to "always follow our words with action."http://www.genocideintervention.net/educate/r-steph.php
Also in 2005, Stephanie traveled to Darfurian refugee camps in Chad after she was denied entry to Sudan. Her trip, along with fellow students from Georgetown
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
and Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, was documented in the film "Translating Genocide," which premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
on March 12, 2006.http://www.darfurisdying.com/translating.html
In 2007, Stephanie was named one Glamour magazine
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
's Top Ten College Women for her work on Darfur.http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2007/05/collegewomen?currentPage=5 Stephanie was honored by Rwandan First Lady Jeannette Kagame
Jeannette Kagame
Jeannette Nyiramongi Kagame is the wife of Paul Kagame;. She became the First Lady of Rwanda when her husband took office as President in 2000. The couple have four children....
for her role in founding the Genocide Intervention Network, and in 2008 was invited to speak on a Clinton Global Initiative panel on student activism.
External links
- Biography on the Genocide Intervention NetworkGenocide Intervention Networkthumb|right|300px|Genocide Intervention Network logoThe Genocide Intervention Network is a non-profit organization that "envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities...
website - Information from the MTVuMtvUmtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...
website - Feature on Stephanie and other student activists on Darfur from the Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
website - "MTVUniversity Names Swarthmore Freshman 'Sudan Correspondent'," press release from Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, 14 March 2005 - "Building Peace on Campus and Beyond," Clinton Global Initiative panel, March 15, 2008
News Coverage
- "Telling the stories of Sudan's horror," Delaware County Times, March 20, 2005
- "Students take action to aid Sudan," The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, April 11, 2005 - "Rwandan teen, excelling in U.S., now lobbies for Darfur aid," Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, June 14, 2005 - "Learning from the tragedy of the past," The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, July 2, 2005 - Transcript of Stephanie Nyombayire's introduction of former President Bill Clinton, Campus ProgressCampus ProgressCampus Progress, launched in February 2005, is an American non-profit organization that promotes progressive political and social policy through support for student activists and journalists on college campuses in the United States...
National Student Conference, July 13, 2005 - "3 Students' Perspective on Tragedy of Darfur," The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, March 11, 2006 - "A student, 16, confronts the unthinkable," The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, June 14, 2006 - "Glamour Hero: She lost 100 family members to genocide," Glamour magazineGlamour (magazine)Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, March 1, 2007 - "She's battling genocide," Glamour magazineGlamour magazineGlamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
, May 1, 2007 - "Rwandan Native Stephanie Nyombayire will not Sleep Until the World Wakes Up," ObaaSema Magazine, April 15, 2007
- "Stephanie Nyombayire '08 Honored by Rwanda's First Lady," Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
News - "Vanguard Peace Warrior," NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, April 20, 2008