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Our Founder: Jacqueline Murekatete

Jacqueline Murekatete is an internationally recognized genocide survivor and human rights activist. Born in Rwanda, Jacqueline was nine years old when she lost her parents, all six siblings and most of her extended family to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Jacqueline was inspired to share her story of survival and hope for the first time in 2001 after listening to the story of the late Holocaust survivor David Gewirtzman, who became a dear friend and mentor.

Since then, Jacqueline has delivered hundreds of genocide-prevention and human rights presentations at schools, NGO events and faith-based communities across the U.S and in Germany, Israel, Ireland, Bosnia, and Belgium. She has also addressed the UN General Assembly and regularly participates in high-level human rights conferences.

Jacqueline’s story and work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Jerusalem Post, Al Jazeera America, UN Africa Renewal Magazine, Newsday, Fast Company, People, Teen Vogue, NPR, Voice of America, CNN, PBS, NBC, ABC, MTV, and other media outlets worldwide.

For her work, Jacqueline has received a number of prestigious awards including: the Global Peace and Tolerance Award from Friends of the United Nations; the Moral Courage Award from the American Jewish Committee, the Do Something Award from Do Something, the Kay Family Award from the Anti-defamation League, the Imbuto Foundation’s Celebrating Young Rwandan Achievers Award from the First Lady of Rwanda, and the Ellis Island Medals of honor award from the National Ethnic Coalition, which put her name in the U.S Congressional record.

Jacqueline founded Genocide Survivors Foundation (GSF) as vehicle to continue her genocide prevention efforts and raise support for fellow genocide survivors.

Jacqueline has a B.A. in Politics from New York University and a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.