MARGUERITE BARANKITSE (BURUNDI)
Marguerite. Barankitse’s mission began when a Tutsi mob tied her up and made her watch the slaughter of 72 Hutus, many of them children. Barankitse began providing food and shelter to 25 children on October 25, 1993, one of the worst days of the Burundi Civil War. Today she is known to many as “the Angel of Burundi” for her tireless work on behalf of children affected by war, poverty and disease. Maggy, as she likes to be known, has opened three centres for children traumatised or mutilated during the fighting: Oasis de la Paix, Casa de la Pace and Maison Shalom, which is also the name of her organisation. Ten thousand children have passed through her doors.