Magguie Barankitse was born in 1956 in Burundi. Her acceptance speech revisited the struggle between Hutus and Tutsis and the terrible massacres. Barankitse was a young Tutsi woman who (also) cared for Hutu orphans in horrible times. In 1993, amid all the violence, she rescued 32 children from murdered parents. In 1994, with the help of the Roman Catholic bishop, she founded a school: the Maison Shalom. This became the first of several peace houses. Barankitse is said to have helped about 20.000 children to a new and reasonably safe life by 2004. Her work was seen as a sign of hope. Despite her rejection of honours, Barankitse received, among others, the Prix des Droits de l'Homme, the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe, the World's Children's Prize, the Voices of Courage Award, the UNHCR-Nansen Prize and the Légion d'Honneur.