Sandra Uwiringiyimana is cofounder and director of partnerships and communications at Jimbere Fund, an organization that aims to revitalize distressed communities in Congo. Since her family’s resettlement in 2007, Sandra has fought to call for justice for the Gatumba massacre and has become a voice for women and girls, refugees and immigrants, and forgotten people like the Banyamulenge tribe. In telling her story, Sandra has shared the world stage with Charlie Rose, Angelina Jolie and Tina Brown at the Women in the World Summit. She addressed the United Nations Security Council at the request of Ambassador Samantha Power to plead with world leaders to act on the pressing issue of children in armed conflict. Sandra is a student at Mercy College in New York City.

Books by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta - Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult 12+

Sandra Uwiringiyimana was just 10 years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and six-year-old sister in a refugee camp. Remarkably, the rebel didn’t pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, of her hope for the future, and how she found a way to give voice to her people.