2009 Honoree Makes Cover of PARADE with Matthew McConaughey
15-year-old Jessica Markowitz was honored by World of Children last year for founding Richard’s Rwanda/Impuhwe. This month, she willl appear on the cover of PARADE magazine alongside American actor Matthew McConaughey (Failure to Launch, We are Marshall, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and will be honored in Washington, DC alongside 14 other young people who have helped their communities in remarkable ways through service.
Jessica founded Richard’s Rwanda when she was 11 after learning about the Rwandan genocide from a man named Richard. She was heartbroken to learn that there are still orphaned girls in Nyamata who cannot afford schooling, so she founded Richard’s Rwanda- IMPUHWE (impuhwe means “compassion”) to raise funds to provide money for these girls to get an education.
The fifteen students who are being honored were nominated by PARADE magazine readers in one of five categories: economics, the environment, education, community, and health. Two students received the privilege of appearing on PARADE’s cover with McConaughey; Jessica was one of them. “I think he really understood the problems in the world and connected with both of us because he has an organization of his own,” Jessica said on meeting McConaughey.
It is always so encouraging to us at World of Children to see the heights our youth honorees soar to. We are all very proud of Jessica and are confident that she will continue to have a huge impact on girls in Rwanda.