Activist, author, humanitarian Carl Wilkens was the only American to remain in Kigaili Rwanda throughout the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Thousands of expatriates evacuated and the United Nations pulled out most of it's troops. Venturing out each day into streets crackling with mortars and gunfire, Wilkens worked his way through roadblocks of angry, bloodstained soldiers and civilians armed with machetes and assault rifles in order to bring food, water and medicine to groups of orphans trapped around the city. Working together with Rwandan colleagues, they helped save the lives of hundreds. He now speaks in schools and universities around the world about Rwanda’s examples of courage, resilience, and reconciliation. Stories of RESPECT, EMPATHY, and INCLUSION are the pathways he presents not only to healing but for responding to extremism.
Skagit Reads is a county-wide library program that brings Skagit county residents together to read and engage with one book. Events are taking place around the county - visit your local Skagit library to get the book and join the discussion. Visit www.skagitreads.org for more information