I Was Born Running. Now I’m Going Back.
Dear Friend,
In 1973, before I ever took my first steps, I was already on the run.
I was born near the Rwanda-Uganda border as my parents fled violence against the Tutsi people. My earliest years were spent in a refugee camp. Later, that camp was destroyed by war. I lost my mother as a child. During the violence that culminated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, I ran again—this time alone through the wilderness toward Uganda, not knowing if I would ever see my family again.
Yet God was writing a different story.
Missionaries helped me when I had nothing.
Teachers invested in me when I had no future.
Strangers believed in me before I believed in myself.
Today, by God's grace, I serve as a pastor, leadership coach, chaplain, speaker, and humanitarian. My life is living proof that hope can rise from unimaginable adversity.
From July 13 through August 11, I will return to Rwanda and Uganda.
I am not returning as a refugee.
I am returning as a messenger of hope.
During this mission, I will:
• Encourage refugee families and vulnerable communities.
• Equip pastors and local leaders.
• Support education initiatives for children.
• Strengthen partnerships that create long-term transformation.
• Share the message that adversity does not have to define a person's future.
Every time I return, I see my younger self in the faces of the children I meet.
Children who are waiting for someone to believe in them.
Young leaders who need encouragement.
Families who are fighting to survive while dreaming of a better tomorrow.
I cannot change my past.
But together, we can change someone else's future.
My goal is to raise $10,000 to support this mission. These funds will help provide transportation, ministry resources, leadership training materials, community outreach, and direct support to vulnerable families and children.
Whether your gift is $25, $100, $500, or more, you become part of every life touched during this journey.
You may never walk through a refugee settlement.
You may never stand in a village gathering under an African sky.
But through your partnership, your compassion will.
I often say that I was called from the camp to the cause.
This mission is one more chapter in that calling.
Would you prayerfully consider standing with me?
Together, we can transform adversity into authority, pain into purpose, and survival into significance.
Thank you for believing in this mission.
With gratitude,
Dr. Yohana
Resilience Leader
