Group works together to bring Ilibagiza to Austin
Catholic Spirit, June 2010, Page One
By Enedelia J. Obregón
Senior Correspondent
Immaculée Ilibagiza came to Austin with her story of faith, hope and forgiveness through the efforts of a group of people who felt they were called to share her gift with the community.
It began with Kristin and Steve Zika, who were quickly joined by friend Stephen Schultz. All are parishioners at St. John Neumann Parish in Austin.
They formed the nonprofit Donavi, a Latin word meaning “to give” and “to forgive,” last summer for the sole purpose of bringing the Rwandan genocide survivor to Austin. Steve Zika even quit his 15-year engineering job with AMD to devote himself to this ministry.
“We don’t know what’s next for us after we’re done with this project,” Steve Zika said. “I believe in Psalm 119: 105 - Thy word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. It doesn’t mean a high beam where you see 10 miles ahead. You just see the next step. Once you take that step the next step will be made clear. That’s the joy of accepting one step at a time.”
That doesn’t mean he will not be responsible for taking care of his wife and three children.
“I am confident the Lord will provide for us,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful journey. I know everyone involved will agree with me.”
The idea began with Kristin, who home schools her children. In 2007, she received Ilibagiza’s book, “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust” from Steve’s parents, who attended Ilibagiza’s presentation in their home town of Peoria, Ill. She stayed up all night reading the book.
“I believe it was a seed that God planted,” Kristin said. “Immediately after I closed the book I literally ordered a case of books. I knew I was deemed to share it.”
She carried books in her purse, giving them out as the Spirit moved her.
“I followed the lead of the Lord,” she said. “I had no preconceived notions as to what to do or who should receive them. I do believe that God places people in front of us at certain moments in our lives for a reason.”
When Kristin finished reading the book, Steve took it with him on a business trip, reading it on the airplane. When he arrived he called his friend, Stephen Schultz.
“He told me you’ve got to read this,” Schultz said. When he read the book, he texted Steve “about 100 times” with passages that moved him the most.
When he finished reading the book, he called the Zikas, saying “we want her here.”
The three, who had become close during the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) process, decided they had to find a way to bring Ilibagiza to Austin.
They asked other nonprofits, but none were able to devote the resources to the project. So the three formed Donavi and got to work.
“Now we know why God didn’t want another organization to do this,” Steve said. “We were meant to be able to walk this journey of bringing her here.”
Before long, there were six people on the planning committee, five of whom had never planned anything of this magnitude. One of them, however, had been the recipient of a book from Kristin.
“I didn’t even know her,” Kristin said. “I saw her at a meeting of another nonprofit. A few weeks later she thanked me for the book and asked if there was anything she could do to help.”
She was an events planner, which lent credibility to their efforts to secure the Paramount Theater for the venue.
“The idea (behind Donavi) is to spread Immaculees’ story and give glory to God,” Steve said. “It’s also an opportunity to raise money for refugee services.”
Proceeds from the presentation went to the Austin Refugee Roundtable, a coalition of local agencies and community-based nonprofits that address the needs of refugees. These include Caritas of Austin, Refugee Services of Texas, Multicultural Refugee Coalition and the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries.
According to a slide show prior to the presentation by Ilibagiza, more than 1,000 refugees are expected to resettle in Austin this year from countries such as Iraq, Burma, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Congo, Eritrea, Somali and Burundi.
Kristin said that in her heart, she knew Ilibagiza’s story needed to be heard by the community.
“I didn’t have an agenda,” Kristin said. “I do believe that the story in-depth is pro-life. It shows the danger of what can happen when we fail to recognize the beauty of humanity in our brothers and sisters.”
The message of forgiveness, hope, love and redemption resonated with the audience, many of whom waited in line before and after the event to have her autograph their books. It seemed that most had read at least the first one.
Kristin said different parts of Ilibagiza’s story touched different people in different ways, depending on where each is on his or her faith journey.
For Kristin, it wasn’t so much that she was able to present this gift to the community as simply allowing herself to be a tool of God.
“We were merely his hands and feet,” she said.
For more information, visit www.donavi.org.