In March 2024, the University of Aberdeen generously funded a research trip to Rwanda for Joëlle, Fransiska, Erin, and Sylvère. They visited commemorative sites dedicated to preserving memory and educating the public about the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. During their visit, Joëlle connected with Sylvère and Madeleine, both survivors of teh 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Madeleine agreed to share her story with Joëlle, and with translation support from Sylvère, they began to interview together and develop the graphic narrative.

In October 2024, the team came together in Belgium to conduct a series of interviews with Madeleine and Joëlle, with support from Fransiska and Sylvère. Filmmaker Marc Ellison documented this phase as the visual narrative began to take shape through collaboration. The work then continued online, where the team collectively reviewed, transcribed, and refined the material in close dialogue with Madeleine, ensuring her voice and comfort remained central. This collaborative process between survivor, artist, and researchers also led to the short film A Compassionate Heart, which situates Madeleine’s story while offering insight into the creative journey behind its graphic novel adaptation.

Madelaine was born into a relatively poor rural area of Rwanda and was a mother to six children at the time of the genocide. She miraculously survived the massacre of Tutsi civilians who sought refuge at a local church by feigning death, and subsequently hiding in her community, before fleeing to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a refugee and later after returning to Rwanda, she was gradually reunited with her family – by then consisting of her own children and several adopted orphans, including her stepson who served as her translator during the graphic novel interview process.