Known for her unwavering humanity, Maria ventured into active massacre zones, hid families in her home and surrounding farmlands, and helped move survivors to safer grounds—acts that have since placed her among Rwanda’s first honored Righteous in the Garden of the Righteous of Humanity in Kamonyi.
Born on November 14, 1955, Maria grew up in a rural community where faith and solidarity shaped everyday life. She married Silas in 1976, and together they raised five children—Perpetue, Népomuscène, Joseph, Evelyne, and Jeanne—instilling in them the Christian values that guided the couple’s decisions during the genocide. Silas, who worked as a catechist and was related to Cyangugu’s prefect, chose not to align with the violence that many around them normalized. Instead, he and Maria committed themselves to preserving life wherever they could, forming a quiet alliance against the surrounding brutality.
During the genocide, their home became a network of improvised refuges. Maria and Silas hid people in their attic, in straw prepared for animals, within nearby tea plantations, and even in the pit used for fermenting bananas—every corner of their property adapted into a shelter. They tended to the wounded, comforted the terrified, and improvised strategies to mislead militias who repeatedly threatened them. Testimonies recount their home being searched, their names targeted, and their children exposed to danger, yet the family continued to protect those who reached their door.
Maria’s actions were not limited to her home. She also left its fragile safety to reach massacre sites where she thought someone might still be alive. In one rescue, she walked for more than two hours through forests to find Jean-Paul Habimana and Vincent, reaching them in the midst of an ongoing attack. Her intervention ultimately allowed them to escape to Nyarushishi camp, far from the men who had vowed to finish them.
One young girl, Bernadette, survived because Silas secretly removed her from a house where dozens awaited execution. All others in that house were later burned alive, making her rescue one of the most emblematic illustrations of the family’s resolve.
Although some of the people they tried to save survived the genocide, 23 others were ultimately killed despite their efforts. Maria has carried those memories with dignity and grief, honoring both the lives rescued and the lives lost. One of the people she rescued, Jean-Paul Habimana, ensured that her bravery would never be forgotten: he memorialized her in his book Despite the Fear: Genocide of the Tutsi and Reconciliation in Rwanda, chronicling the stories of the survivors she and Silas saved.
In 2024, Maria’s legacy became publicly recognized when she was honored in the first Garden of the Righteous established in Rwanda by SEVOTA, an organization that supports women and children who survived the genocide, with the support of GARIWO, committed to raising awareness and promoting the stories of those who have chosen to do good even in the darkest moments of history. Standing among the commemorated names, Maria represented not only her own courage but also the quiet, often unrecorded bravery of ordinary Rwandans who refused to surrender their humanity.
Today, Maria’s story continues to move generations. Her life stands as a testament to the idea that even in the darkest circumstances, a single family’s choice to defend human dignity can echo across decades and help rebuild a world where goodness grows again.