My Dear friends/ Supporters and Family
I would love to share with you the
Update meeting about Peace Day / Rwanda Flag – Raising in Newark, NJ
Today, Friday June 22 we are having a meeting at Newark City Hall with Honorable Dosso Kassimou, Chairman of City of NEWARK Office of the Mayor’s African Commission and the Newark African Commission Committee members , we are also going to see the place as well as you saw it in our web site report as one of, on to do lists
From our meeting notes we had at Baruch College, June 11
All Peace Builders and Peace Promoters as well as Peacemakers are welcome to join us
All in Peace
the address is
Newark African Commission, NJ
Today Friday, June 22 at 6pm Newark City Hall
Room number is 304
Many thanks to our devoted Volunteers-staff team who are going to attend our meeting with Honorable Dosso Kassimou, Chairman of City of NEWARK Office of the Mayor’s African Commission and the Newark African Commission Committee members
Our devoted Volunteers – staff team are :
Fatima (Fatou) is a junior with a double major in Political Science and Economics and a minor in French/Middle East Studies.
Originally from Senegal, West Africa, Fatima immigrated to the U.S at the age of 11;
now she is the President/Founder of Drew University Project Yaakaar, a service learning club that works for the education and empowerment of girls in rural Senegal.
Fatima’s philosophy and motivation in life is to not only dream, but to also take action and transform those dreams into reality.
Safia is currently a pharmacy intern at Sheefa Pharmacy in New Jersey and studying for a doctorate of pharmacy at Long Island University.
She is Secretary of the New Jersey American Pharmacists Association and Vice-President of the Professional Pharmacy Fraternity, and formerly served as Secretary of the National Islamic Association Youth Group, and Treasurer of the Muslim Student Association.
Safia has a long history of community service, in particular counseling patients at the Newark Community Health Fair as well as volunteering at a monthly soup kitchen.
She has a particular specialism in communications, teamwork and systems knowledge.
2012, A Humanitarian achievements Award winner & The 2010 Ambassador for Peace Award winner
Marie Claudine Mukamabano, is an orphan-survivor of Rwandan genocide, who has received recognition from The Assembly of State of New York on May 2011 on the occasion of the Africa Day Celebration in Albany, New York for turning a life of hardship into one of leadership and advocacy. She is the Founder and CEO of Kuki Ndiho Foundation, an organization that she established in 2005 to raise awareness on the genocide in Rwanda, help survivors, and aid orphans of HIV. In a personal capacity, she also serves as a mentor to many of the children, helping to build their confidence and give them inspiration.
After losing her parents, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, loved ones, friends, classmates, and fellow countrymen during the Rwandan Genocide, her Catholic faith inspired her to seek the answer to the question of KUKI NDIHO? (Why do I exist?-Pourquoi J’existe?). This question now serves as the name of her organization, which has an extensive fundraising program in New York, as well as a presence in Belgium and South Africa. The thousands of dollars raised thus far continue to support hundreds of orphans in Rwanda
She gave a speech on March 2011 at the African Union’s conference on behalf of Rwanda & African women author on the theme: “A Tribute to Flora Nwapa: Gender Equality and The Empowerment of Women”.
On the occasion of the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations on February 2011, Marie Claudine was selected as the only representative of Africa women to speak on the panel “Sharing Knowledge – Joining Forces – Gaining Power: Mentoring as a Tool to Empower NGO Women”. She won an Ambassador for Peace Award on May 2010.
In 2007, as a Professional Mistress of Ceremonial and Special Event Organizer, she helped to establish “African Day Parade” and volunteered as Committee Member of the mission to promote a positive image and culture of Africa in The United States and others westerns countries.
Marie Claudine is also an influential speaker, actress, artist, and model. As artist, she dances at universities, churches and community groups as part of the Rwanda Dance Theater Company. As singer, she performs at the International Commemoration Day to mark the 15th Anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide at the United Nations attended by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.
She was awarded a Marathon Peace Medal from the International Women for Peace in Kigali Rwanda and honored for being the first artist from Rwanda selected among 600 applicants worldwide to participate in the Robert Wilson’s International Theater Projects in New York City on May 2005.
She speaks English, French, Swahili and her language Kinyarwanda. She graduated with a distinction in School of Business Studies in Rwanda 2000, and has recently completed courses in nonprofit management at Baruch College and The Foundation Center. She graduated recently from the International Trauma Studies, a program directed by Dr. Jack Saul, Professor at Columbia University.
Marie Claudine MUKAMABANO, attended the 18th Commemoration of 1994 Rwandan Genocide at New York University (Photo by Alexander Benedict)
