John A. Berry

John Berry is a development finance professional who has worked in economic empowerment around the world. In 1993 he moved to Rwanda manage a US government-funded project. In early April 1994, he and his staff were organizing a workshop and staying at the Sovu Monastery near Butare, a convent run by Benedictine nuns. He was evacuated with the American community on April 9, leaving his staff in the care of the nuns. Five of John’s staff, along with more than 7,000 refugees were later brutally massacred. Two nuns were sentenced to prison for their role in the killings.

John returned to Rwanda in 1995 document the genocide, train human rights monitors, and find his surviving staff. Testimony John collected was adapted into the book, Genocide in Rwanda: A Collective Memory. This book was the first to capture the voices of Rwandan journalists, academics, human rights activists on the origins of the genocide. He returned to Sovu to organize construction of a memorial.

John has returned to Rwanda several times to support specialty coffee producers. He has written numerous articles on economic development and microfinance. He remains actively involved in commemorating the genocide.