DES MOINES, Iowa — This month marks the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda.
From April 7 to July 4, 1994, it's estimated more than one-million people were killed during the 100-day genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
"By that time, I was 17 years old, my family was attacked, myself I was, my brother, my young brother," said Claudien Karangwa, who was born and raised in Rwanda.
Now, 30 years later, he's the president of the Rwandan Community of Iowa.
This Saturday, they will host Kwibuka, an annual commemoration to honor the lives lost.
"Our goal is to remember our loved ones, but also share our history and educate other people about what happened in our country and also where our country is now, 30 years after the genocide against Tutsis," said Bella Ineza, the Secretary General of the Rwandan Community of Iowa.
Though she was born after the genocide, Ineza is an advocate for awareness.
"I think it's important to learn from our history, the small details, so that we can recognize signs early on and be able to stop genocides from happening so that never again can truly be never again,” Ineza said.
The first Iowa Kwibuka was held in 2018.
"It's important for people to realize, that we can't as a human race allow this to happen again," said Steve Noah, the founder of The Friends of Rwanda for Iowa.
Noah said its important non-Rwandans know about the 1994 genocide.
"We have to become more and more cognizant of the fact of the horror that humans are capable of perpetrating on one another,” Noah said. “That's what makes Kwibuka so important, and that's what makes it so important for us to invite as many people as possible."
While Kwibuka honors those killed, it's also a celebration of how far the Rwandan people have come.
"People can achieve a lot, despite what happened, despite the consequences of a genocide,” Karangwa said. “That's why I want to invest in education. People can learn a lot through education. And the young people who were born after the genocide, they know what happened, so that history will never repeat itself."
Kwibuka 30 is being held at the Heartland Presbyterian Church on Hickman Road on Saturday from 2-5 p.m.
It's free to attend and anyone is welcome.