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The World Outside My Shoes Speaking Tour
Learning from
Carl Wilkens is the former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda. In 1994, he was the only American who chose to remain in the country after the genocide began. His choice to stay and try to help resulted in preventing the massacre of hundreds of children over the course of the genocide.
Wilkens was featured in Frontline’s "Ghosts of Rwanda" and "The Few Who Stayed: Defying Genocide," an American Radio Works documentary which aired on National Public Radio. His story reminds us of the profound connection between history and the moral choices we face each day. It also arms us with new insights in the fight against genocide along with tools and inspiration for re-evaluating the relationships we are part of every day.
Wilkens’ humanitarian work has been recognized with several awards including the Dignitas Humana Award from Saint John’sSchool of Theology Seminary and a 2005 Medal of Valor from the SimonWiesenthalCenter.
This year, Wilkens has embarked on a multi-city tour of the United States to share his story with students, teachers, activists, policy-makers and community members. While sharing experiences of what day to day life in Rwanda was like during the genocide, Wilkens focus’s on the courage and resilience he witnessed with people facing horrendous choices in the middle of unimaginable slaughter.
Wilkens asks if we really do believe what we see, or is it more often that we see what we believe, which makes exploring what we believe about ourselves and others so important in shaping the world we are a part of.
Other questions explored are;
- What stops a person from making a difference in any situation?
- Are stories our most powerful weapon? Do they have the potential to end a “fight” with 2 winners?
- Is thinking that says “My world would be better without you in it!” where genocide and other “cides” stem from?
- Is authentic freedom discovered when we encounter the “other”, or is it threatened when we encounter the other?
If you would like to book Carl Wilkens for a school, community, or church/temple event please email him at: carl@worldoutsidemyshoes.org..
Wilkens’ telling of his own experiences puts a human “face” on genocide, showing us that the perpetrators, victims, and resistors will not soon be forgotten, and teaching participants how one person really can make a difference.
