Rosamond Carr (née Halsey) (August 28, 1912 – September 29, 2006) was an American humanitarian and author.Martin, Douglas

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', October 8, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2014. She was born in

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

. In 1942, she married the British explorer and film maker Kenneth Carr. The Carrs settled in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

in 1949, and after their divorce Rosamond settled in Mugongo, Rwanda to run a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

growing

pyrethrum ''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as ''Chrysanthemum'' or ''Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants formerly inclu ...

flowers to produce

pyrethrin The pyrethrins are a class of organic compounds normally derived from ''Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium'' that have potent Insecticide, insecticidal activity by targeting the nervous systems of insects. Pyrethrin naturally occurs in chrysanthemum f ...

, an organic insecticide sought the world over."Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life In Rwanda" Carr was introduced to

Dian Fossey Dian Fossey (, January 16, 1932 – ) was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her murder in 1985. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of ...

in 1967, and the two became close friends and confidantes.Holley, Joe
Rosamond Carr, 94; Founder of Rwandan Orphanage
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', October 4, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2014. In 1994, Carr was evacuated from Mugongo by Belgian Marines during the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

, returning when her security was no longer at risk. She founded the Imbabazi Orphanage on December 17, 1994.Rosamond Halsey Carr & the Imbabazi Orphanage
Rwanda Project, ''Eyes of Children'', rwandaproject.org, December 29, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2014. With parts of Rwanda still unsafe, after 1997 both Carr and the Imbabazi Orphanage relocated to

Gisenyi Gisenyi, historically rendered as Kisenyi, is a city in Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overview The city features a resort on th ...

, where she continued to look after the day-to-day running of the orphanage and its 120 children. In December 2005, she was able to return to Mugongo, where the orphanage had been reestablished in a new building near her home. In 1999 her autobiography, ''Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda'', co-written with her niece Ann Howard Halsey, was published. It has since been translated into French and German.Rosamond Halsey Carr, Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda, Viking Penguin Books, 1999. . ''A Mother's Love: Rosamond Carr & a Lifetime in Rwanda'', a documentary project about her life and on which Carr acted as advisor, was produced by Standfast Productions Ltd., directed by Eamonn Gearon and photographed by Noel Donnellon.Carr documentary film trailer
''A Mother's Love: Rosamond Carr & a Lifetime in Rwanda'', Standfast Productions Ltd., standfastproductions.com, July 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2014. Carr acted in a similar capacity during production of ''

Gorillas in the Mist ''Gorillas in the Mist'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Michael Apted and starring Sigourney Weaver as the naturalist Dian Fossey. It tells the story of her work in Rwanda with mountain gorillas and was nominated for five Academy Aw ...

'' starring

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

and directed by

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

, with her character in that film played by

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

. Carr died on September 29, 2006, in Gisenyi, Rwanda. She was buried on Sunday, October 1 at Mugongo, her flower farm in the shadow of the Virunga Volcanoes. The new orphanage building, where her legacy continues, is next to the farm.

External links

Funeral and Memorial Service

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Rosamond 1912 births 2006 deaths American explorers American humanitarians Women humanitarians