Jean-Damascène Gasanabo

Jean-Damascène Gasanabo is a Rwandan born educator who has spent his career working with the Rwandan government, UNESCO in Paris, the ILO New York, and other international non-profits. Mr. Gasanabo was obtaining his PhD in education at the University of Geneva when his family was murdered in the Rwandan genocide. Since then, he has focused on rebuilding his home nation, improving education worldwide, and advancing genocide prevention efforts. Mr. Gasanabo has traveled across the U.S. giving lectures at institutions from the University of Southern California to the University of Minnesota, and he is currently working with Sacramento State University. In this transcribed interview, Mr. Gasanabo describes the distress and sadness caused by the genocide while he was abroad and how he has become an educator in the United States and abroad to prevent history from repeating itself. Read Damas’ story below.