St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, will welcome Immaculée Ilibigiza who will tell her prevailing story of surviving the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, which accounted for the deaths of more than one million people.

The event will be held July 21 at 7 p.m. in St. Mary of the Pines Church, Manahawkin.

The author of “Left To Tell” and “Led by Faith,” Ilibigiza has shared her story all around the world – as a motivational speaker at places such as schools and parishes, including a visit to Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, in 2009 – about how she survived the brutal genocide with seven women in a concealed bathroom for 91 days. She is not only a survivor, but a devout Catholic as well as an advocate for faith and peace, sharing her story on finding faith in God to move forward in life and overcome her traumatic experiences. 

In 2007, she founded the Left to Tell Charitable Fund, which helps support Rwandan orphans as well as receiving the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace the same year. Although she’s suffered through horrors in her home country, she returns there regularly on missions of peace to reestablish communities and console the families affected by the genocide. 

Admission to the event is $15. Send check made payable to St. Mary Parish and a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Carole Gordon, 225 Privateer Road, Manahawkin, N.J. 08050.

For more information, call Carole, 609-698-3664, or Grace at 609-698-1811.