Step Up! History

Step Up was founded in 2004 by Dr. Rangira Béa Gallimore, a professor at the University of Missouri. Dr. Gallimore lost several members of her family during the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994. In 2005, Step Up! was incorporated as a 501 (c) 3 organization to respond to the ongoing trauma experienced by Rwandan women during the 1994 genocide. Tutsi women were specifically targeted for rape, torture and extermination during the genocide.  Many who survived were left with unwanted pregnancies or infected with HIV. They remain impoverished, psychologically traumatized and chronically ill.
Since its incorporation, Step Up! has provided micro level income generating projects and trauma counseling to a self-help group of women in the Butare region of south Rwanda. (See ABASA). Also starting in 2008, StepUp! developed and delivered a certificate training program in trauma counseling as requested by the Kigali Health Institute. This program consists of short, intensive courses on effective counseling interventions for professionals in health, education, social and religious occupations.