By Nisali Fernando – Staff Reporter

At the age of five, Daniel Trust’s life was radically altered by the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. While most five-year-olds are concerned with cheerios and Disney channel, Trust was forced to witness the murder of his mother in cold blood. His mother, a Tutsi, along with thousands of others, were targeted and exterminated by Hutu rebel forces in Rwanda. Trust recalls being placed in a circle alongside other Tutsis and “one by one” they fell. As the blade fell on his mother’s neck, his innocence went with it.

Since that day, Trust has rewritten the narrative. He is more than just a victim of the Rwandan Genocide. Since immigrating to the United States in 2005, Trust has managed to open a foundation in his name that “supports students from low-income communities with their educational and career needs, and to honor teachers, who are making a difference in the lives of these students and communities in which they teach.” He speaks at high schools to bring light to the Rwandan Genocide and hopes to teach and inspire students to make a difference. A man, torn down by years of hatred and suffering, proves that with determination good things can happen.

Though Trust’s situation may be unique, he demonstrates that no matter the obstacles in the way, to create change in the world, one must take their future into their hands and take action. This action however, has been taken, aside from Trust many others have devoted their lives to making the world they live in a better place. They have all come together to stand up for the voiceless and advocate for change. Be it from a social media platform or knee deep in the sewage of Nairobi, Kenya.

Janet Patry, a Connecticut native, participates in the latter. Unlike Trust, Patry’s story is a little less bloodied. She first arrived in Kenya to embark on a, “big adventurous trip.” Her adventure took another turn when she came across Neemaland, a boarding school housing 22 young girls. Compelled to make a change, Patry promised these girls that they would indeed go to school and get an education, and that she would return to Kenya.

She did not go back on her word, and since her expedition to Kenya, Patry has founded Right 2 Thrive and relocated to Kenya permanently. Right 2 Thrive is an organization set out to, “invest in women and children to break the cycle of generational poverty.” Patry, since the establishment of her organization in 2008 has managed several incredible feats. Including enrolling 1,800 women in business and empowerment training, training eight mothers to start businesses, and guiding the take off of five successful businesses. On the adolescent side, the organization has sent six students to high school and has managed the impossible feat of sending two students to University.

Trust and Patry are two incredibly inspiring people. They work tirelessly to promote their causes, but it doesn’t stop there. It became apparent after their speeches that the duo wanted more than the sympathy of students. They meant to motivate students to make a change, to persevere, and reach their goals – goals that they themselves have devoted years of their lives to.

Trust, while on stage addressing the students of Jonathan Law High School began to tear up. Much of the crowd looked up at him remorsefully as he recounted his dream of coming to America.

“America is the country where you could do anything,” Trust said. “I had been dreaming of coming to the US since I was 11 years old.”

At 15, this dream became a reality when Trust’s Visa had been approved. On the stage, a man who had recently just broken down during his presentation after going through a slideshow of his deceased family members, stood proudly as he recounted his journey of the American Dream.

Aside from a slight Rwandan lilt, Trust’s English is almost perfect. Which is no surprise because he forced himself to learn English with the help of his high school’s ESL teachers and television shows. With this determination he enrolled in Southern Connecticut State University and majored in business management. The same man who had dreamed of America, managed to conquer it’s native tongue and graduate from a qualified university. Trust, “had hope and faith things would get better” and because of his willpower his situation shifted advantageously.

Patry who now lives in Kenya, found her calling leaving America behind. Nairobi, the capital, has a poverty rate of 49.1% translating to at least 16,728,251 people out of a population of a whopping 45,545,980 (2014). Ultimately proving to the ambitious Patry that her work is cut out for her.  While speaking students at Jonathan Law High School, Patry recalled the sickening sanitary conditions in the streets of Nairobi. Raw sewage flows in the street, and children who play in these toxic water suffer from rashes, stomach aches, diarrhea, and dehydration. Many children in Kenya (and in most developing African countries) do not live past 10 years old. And of those who do survive past 10, at least 2 million are orphaned.

The disheartening conditions in Kenya not only motivated Patry, but forced her to immerse herself in the lifestyle. She was taking no shortcuts, during her first night at Neemaland, Patry slept atop a lumpy mattress with a flashlight by her side to keep the critters away. Since that day Patry has remained hands on with her organization. The relocation to Kenya was sparked by the fact that she could, “do so much more if I was on the ground there,” Patry said. Determined to end this cycle of poverty, where half of the country is incapable of surviving. Patry understood it was not enough to educate children, but their mothers had to be educated as well. She, alongside others in her organization teach the mothers of the students they educate how to develop self-worth, new skills, income generating techniques, and how to keep their children in school.

Trust and Patry, though on opposite hemispheres, manage to ignite and cultivate change for the better.

After Trust’s presentation was over, the audience was left with a devastating feeling of anguish and helplessness. For many, Trust’s wavering composure was the most heartbreaking parts of his presentation. Ms. Rowley, an English and Social Studies teacher at Jonathan Law High School, organized the event. She has known Trust since he was a teenager, and recounted one other time during his 10 visits to the school where he had cried. “It was a perfect storm of events that were happening at the time, just talking about his loss culminated in that overwhelming moment for him,” Rowley said.

Sydney King, a Junior at Jonathan Law High School wholeheartedly agreed with Rowley. Trusts’ outburst of emotion, “brought everything that we watched previously in Hotel Rwanda right before us,” King said. “Although I could never even imagine the whole of his pain, I felt just a small bit of it and that made the issue very real for me.”

Patry’s story was equally as stirring and Mr. Roumeles, a History teacher at Jonathan Law High School was in awe of both speakers. “I really admire them both,” Roumeles said. “Especially Janet for what she does on a daily basis, and I admire Daniel for dealing with things the way he has.”

Almost immediately, following the presentations, many students rushed up to the speakers to ask them questions; and in Trust’s case to share a warm embrace. Students, who hours before were complaining about missing class time, took selfies and exchanged stories with the speakers.

“Seeing so many of you (students) really get engaged, for some it was even a life changing event, that made it all worth it,” Rowley said.

One of the most memorable pieces of advice to advocate for change came from Mr. Dooley, another History teacher at Jonathan Law High School. “Even on a small scale, the Milford community or the Jonathan Law community can make a real difference,” Dooley said,  “Any improvement, any difference we can make, helps a lot. I hope that came across to the students.”

For students like King, the message was apparent, “as I move forward and choose my career path and future I would love for it to align closely with the missions of these two wonderful people. Since the assembly I have been looking into philanthropy as a serious option for my future.”

Daniel Trust and Janet Patry came to Jonathan Law High School to spread the word about two deserving causes, and in the process managed to transform the atmosphere of the high school toward kindness and selflessness.

Once the speeches were over and after the tears were shed, change was no longer an impossible feat. As a society, people live in a world surrounded by horror and it is our responsibility to get involved and make a difference. People can no longer stand idly by, they must take action and in the words of Trust, “stand up for the voiceless.”

For a man who wasn’t meant to live past the Rwandan Genocide, Trust’s story is one of triumph and perseverance. As he stood on the stage recounting his story he was no longer a victim, he was a survivor.

(Some information courtesy danieltrustfoundation.org, right2thrive.org, ruralpovertyportal.org, worldbank.org)