{{Members of Kigali’s Mashirika creative and performing arts group unveiled their latest creation at the U.S. Embassy in Kacyiru Monday.}}
Their performance was inspired by this year’s embassy-sponsored “Everybody Reads Rwanda” campaign book The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is the story of Eddie, a war veteran trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret.
Then, on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart.
He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is a place where earthly life is explained to you by five people.
These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers, yet each of them changed his path forever.
The story is an uplifting one that can inspire all, Mashirika members said. “Behind all our avatars, we are all an interconnected human race,” said Hope Azeda, Artistic Director for Mashirika. “Heaven is a reflection of what happens in life. This is a universal story.”
U.S. Embassy officials selected this book for public discussion because of its timeless and inspirational themes: sacrifice, forgiveness, the power of love, and “are there really any random acts in life?” It is a book which will appeal to people of all ages, from secondary school on up.
Those who have read the book or who are interested in learning more about it may attend a public book discussion. Books are still available for free at the library in the U.S. Embassy in Kacyiru.
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