Building Peace, One Child at a Time

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About the Episode

Humanitarian and founder of Maison Shalom, Marguerite “Maggy” Barankitse, shares her powerful story of resilience, faith and the transformative power of love at the 2024 Hope Summit.

Transforming Tragedy. Revolutionary Love. Unabashed Hope.

Marguerite “Maggy” Barankitse’s journey is one of unimaginable loss, relentless hope and a belief in the power of love to change the world. Forced to witness the brutal massacre of 72 people — including dear friends — during the Burundian Civil War in Africa, she refused to let hatred and violence dictate the course of her life.

Maggy turned her pain into action, creating Maison Shalom, an international NGO that cares for more than 47,000 orphaned children and refugees from both the Hutu and Tutsi factions, providing them with safety, education and hope.

“I didn’t found Maison Shalom,” Maggy says. “I followed the children, the eyes of the children.” It was a 5-year-old who first gave the sanctuary its name, declaring that, like Jesus, they would find peace despite the horrors surrounding them.

This episode covers…

• Maggy’s harrowing experience of war and loss — and the moment that changed her entire life.
• How she built Maison Shalom, transforming a site of massacre into a place of joy, learning and reconciliation.
• Her ongoing mission to transform refugee camps into vibrant communities, proving that hope and love know no borders.

Transforming Tragedy into Hope

On Oct. 22, 1993, Maggy stood inside a bishop’s compound, believing it to be a place of refuge. Instead, it became the site of unspeakable violence where she was forced to witness the massacre of 72 people.

Even while tied up and beaten, she made a choice that would define her life's mission. “They told me I was a traitor,” she recalls, “but I said, ‘No, I am a Christian.’” Her faith and unwavering commitment to protecting others allowed her to rescue 25 children — both Hutu and Tutsi — planting the seeds of what would become Maison Shalom.

Her vision transcended mere survival. When UN agencies questioned why she would build a swimming pool at the site of such horror, Maggy’s response revealed her deeper purpose. “I know if I put a swimming pool there, water will clean all the sins.”

She refused to let the land remain marked by tragedy. “I built the hope because we are builders of hope,” she explains. Beyond the swimming pool, she created libraries, theaters and restaurants — transforming a place of darkness into one of joy and possibility. Where others saw only the scars of violence, Maggy built monuments to healing and renewal. 

Love as a Strategy

When UNICEF officials asked for her action plan to care for the orphaned children, Maggy gave them an answer they struggled to understand: "Love."

This response, seemingly simple, revealed her profound understanding of what truly transforms lives. "How people don't understand that we still love?" she reflects. "We can transform this world into paradise."

Her approach was revolutionary. Where others saw only the scars of violence, she built symbols of hope. Under her leadership, Maison Shalom became more than a refuge; it became a place where children could dream again.

Hope Without Borders

In 2015, Maggy fled Burundi after the government saw her as a threat. Stripped of her passport, her possessions and her home, she arrived in Rwanda with nothing.

When journalists at the airport asked about all she had lost, she responded with her characteristic joy. "I lost nothing. I fled with my love, and I am able to rebuild again." Her explanation was profound. "Maison Shalom was not those buildings. It's a message that we can live together as children of God and we can rebuild."

Today, she continues her mission in refugee camps, working to transform them into vibrant communities. "We are citizens of the world," she declares, refusing to see refugees as victims but rather as people full of talent and potential.

Her message to young people rings with the same hope that has defined her life's work: "You are the most beautiful richness we have. You are our hope. Speak up and rise up."

Through it all, Maggy’s source of strength remains constant. "What I know is that everybody can abandon you, even your family, but there is one who will never abandon you,” she shares. “The one who went on the cross because of love."

This unshakeable faith, combined with practical action, continues to transform lives and inspire hope across borders.