In February 2021, Catherine Porth sat down with (at the time) non-profit Executive Director, Storyteller, and Coach, Drocella MugoreWera. The two had been introduced almost a year prior as a mutual friend when Catherine was searching for a storyteller to talk about breaking down barriers for a virtual Let Her Speak event in the midst of the pandemic. During their conversation, they covered topics from Drocella’s journey since arriving in the United States as a refugee, to how we can help more refugees, like herself, and the many legacies she wants to leave behind.

Drocella is from Rwanda, a beautiful country with a painful history. During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, her country lost almost 1,000,000 people. She survived. Many did not. Rather than continuing life with bitterness, anger, and regret – Drocella chose to become a beacon of kindness and light.

Her answer to the question “What legacy do you want to leave behind?” consisted of several amazing visions for the life she wants to live. One of our favorite quotes from her answer was: “I want people to love themselves more. And to appreciate who they are. This is why one of my missions is awakening [gifts].”

Fast forward to 2022 and Drocella has made many changes in her life in pursuit of making her visions a reality. We will talk more about that next week when we share Drocella’s follow-up interview, but to understand how far Drocella has come – it’s important to first learn where she’s been.

Thank you, Drocella, for the warmth, kindness, and heart you bring to everything you do!