It didn't matter that the back window was shot out of his car or that militiamen threatened to kill him. Carl Wilkens said he stayed because "I had a sense I was making a difference."

Wilkens, the only American to remain in Kigali, Rwanda after the 1994 genocide began, spoke to a group of about 70 people Wednesday evening in the Chambers Building. The lecture, which was sponsored by the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences and the Rock Ethics Institute, included anecdotes of his time spent in the country during violent instability and described some of the inspiring people he encountered.

At the age of 33, Wilkens traveled to Rwanda with his family as part of a church group that hoped to carry out humanitarian work. He was there for four years when the genocide started, but instead of fleeing as most foreigners did, Wilkens remained in the city of Kigali to help children at a local orphanage. He recounted a story where the children had no drinking water, and the only way for him to obtain any was to drive to a faucet down the road. The only problem: It was heavily guarded by snipers who were ready and willing to use their machine guns on any trespassers.

"There were some days you didn't want to go forward," Wilkens said. "These kids were [a] huge inspiration."

Wilkens is the founder of World Outside My Shoes, a non-profit educational and professional development organization that encourages people to "enter the world of the other," by promoting acceptance of all people and their differences.

Meryn Oswald heard Wilkens speak at Penn State in March as well and was immediately inspired to create an on-campus branch of the organization. Oswald said the student group has two goals: to complete community service at home as well as abroad. She said members plan on participating in local food drives and mentoring programs and are hoping to raise enough money to have a Rwandan orphanage repainted.

"I was really moved by his story. It really stuck with me and I felt like I had to do something," Oswald (sophomore-French and English) said.