GO! is proud to support Marion MacGillivray and her daughter Genevieve in their efforts to launch counseling programs for survivors of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.  With their innovative approach to dealing with this indescribable atrocity, and in partnership with Byron Katie of The Work (www.thework.com), they have a set up a pilot program for 5 Rwandan genocide survivors turned community leaders to come to Los Angeles for counseling and training this October. These survivors will be attending sessions for nine consecutive days with Byron Katie herself to obtain the tools required to help them process and cope with their tragic experiences.  Through her program, Byron Katie has found a unique and inspiring goal in her life: to teach people how to end their own suffering using a powerful process of inquiry, ultimately allowing people to identify and un-learn stressful beliefs. Based on Byron Katie’s direct experiences with how suffering is created and ended, The Work is an astonishingly simple and accessible process, requiring nothing more than a pen and paper and an open mind.

The goal of this project, while very ambitious, is fully justified in its approach, and GO! is extremely proud to help sponsor the event: One Thousand Hills seeks to familiarize these 5 community leaders with the process of transformation that they may return to Rwanda with the skills necessary to teach others in their communities. If the sessions appear to benefit other survivors, a secondary program will be implemented in which the newly educated Rwandan trainers will use the lessons they learned through this workshop to facilitate large-scale change. The success of this project is project is made possible by the generosity of Byron Katie, who has agreed to waive all fees associated with this pilot program (totaling over $20,000), and who has also pledged to travel to Rwanda personally to assist with training other genocide survivors in local communities.

Due to a coincidence in timing, GO! will also be sponsoring the Rwandan community leaders to participate in the annual Los Angeles AIDS Walk (www.aidswalk.net/losangeles) on October 17-18. Considering events of this nature are extremely rare in Africa, this walk will provide a unique opportunity to participate in an environment of openness and understanding regarding the disease. It is also our hope that these community leaders will establish connections and develop a network to support them in their ongoing efforts back in Rwanda. If you would like to sponsor Team Rwanda in the Los Angeles AIDS Walk, you can do so directly here. For those of you in Los Angeles, you can also join our team with the same link by clicking on the “Team” tab. The team name and number is: Team Rwanda - 0566. The fundraising goal for this project is $500 with all proceeds going directly to the AIDS Project Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by HIV, reducing incidences of HIV worldwide, and advocating for fair and effective HIV-related public policy.

In addition to our support, GO! has pledged to donate 5 Mac laptops to each of the training participants in order to facilitate the launch of counseling programs across Rwanda. It is our hope that each community leader will be able to use their laptop to spread awareness about the counseling programs, to track program progress, and to receive additional support from MacGillivray’s team. This donation is made possible by the generosity of Robert Baker of MacService (www.macservice.com).

For more information regarding Project One Thousand Hills, the Los Angeles AIDS Walk, or pledging your support, please contact us directly.