GENOCIDE OF 1994: Quietly, without fanfare, a group of Santa Barbara women are setting an example to the world.
Led by Janet Reineck, they’ve used dance as a means to raise funds to aid survivors of the catastrophic 1994 genocide in the African nation of Rwanda. Money raised by World Dance for Humanity goes to 20 communities of people by “providing goats, cattle, student stipends, training, and support for small businesses,” Reineck told me.
“Each of these communities has its own profile. One is made up of former sex workers, while others include genocide widows, unwed mothers, orphans, disenfranchised poor farmers, and the Twa [pygmies], who emerged from their forest life to try to survive in the lowlands.
