Rosamond Halsey Carr (1912–2006)

In 1949 Rosamund Halsey Carr left New York for what was then the Belgian Congo. Her marriage to a hunter-explorer was not to last but by the time of her divorce, she had fallen in love with the country. To support herself she started a pyrethrum farm (a natural insecticide). Her descriptions of the country and its people are captivating. She met and became good friends with Dian Fossey, who was murdered in the middle of writing a letter to Carr.

Over the years she faced many tragedies and difficulties, however the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 was the most heartbreaking. She had stayed through previous conflicts but this time was given minutes to grab essentials and make her escape. She left the country for some months returning when the risk was reduced. She was 82 years old and determined to return "home" and convert her old farm into an orphanage to take in some of the thousands of children left without parents. When she returned to the devastated country and her destroyed house, the first friends who arrived soon after were her two dogs and cat who were starving and in bad shape. She concluded that the cat had kept the dogs alive by catching small animals for them to eat. Rosamund Halsey Carr died in 2006 and is buried next to the orphanage she founded.

Carr's niece, Ann Howard Halsey, collected information from letters, diaries and notes as well as her own first-hand accounts to create this book. It is a charming account of one of the most courageous women I have come across.… (mere)