Meet the 2022 Peace Practice Alliance Cohort

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Ahmad is a peacebuilder and youth activist from Kabul, Afghanistan. Ahmad has received his Bachelor Degree in Computer Application from Panjab University, India. Having a keen interest and commitment for personal and professional growth, Ahmad has participated in personal development, mediation, and leadership training both in India and Afghanistan. A prominent example of his work is at Afghanistan Youth Empowerment and Peacebuilding Organization (AYEPO) where he actively contributed to AYEPO’s capacity building and peace related activities and training since the inception of the organization in January 2019.

Ahmad has a strong passion to serve others and to contribute to programs that empower and inspire young people to become change-makers in their communities.

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Aisha holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Marketing. She is an Administrator at Uganda Tourism Association, and Founder of Powerful Woman Africa, a women development initiative and also a co-founder of Ewaffe Cultural Village, a tourism community-based initiative. Aisha is passionate about women empowerment, culture & travel, and learning new skills related to personal and community development.

Aisha shares, “Choosing peace means being able to create peace first with oneself and then extending it to the people around and the rest of my community.” She believes that her actions inextricably impact others, and aims to create projects that cultivate peace in her community.

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Amjad has explored his many interests in higher education. He holds a PhD in Ethno Politics from Exeter University, an MBA from Singapore and a Master’s in Engineering from Imperial College. He is extremely passionate about making connections and building bridges with and between people. He explains, “building trust through dialogue to ensure respect, understanding, and acceptance is what drives me and is what keeps me in this line of peacebuilding. I am always inspired by the imagery of rebuilding the shattered mirror, made famous by the poem from the famous Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton, the Qezidah of Abu Yezdi, where he talked about truth being like a shattered mirror that each of us holds a part of.”

Outside of his academic pursuits, AJ also loves photography, reading, travelling, and is an avid foodie. He also confesses to being a closet comic book fan.

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Andre is a descendant of the Indigenous Peoples who have inhabited Southern Âfrica for millennia. His own words beautifully describe his background and vision:

Peace, for me, has always seemed so impossible. I was born in the 1960's, a child of some loosely applied 'immorality act.' Then our family and communities were uprooted and shunted around by the 'group areas act,' to concentration camp-like 'townships.'...

In recent times, I was jolted by personal traumatic events that triggered questions in me, that led to my obsession with research into my own mixed-up family tree. I researched also, our shared history, heritage and habitation of this our motherland and our identity. Suddenly, I was able to see a connection between Peace and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)!...

All my varied jobs and work experiences…seemed irrelevant comparatively. I realised that the imperative for the world is still food for all! This greed and profit driven depletion of Earth's resources has to stop; environmental preservation and collaborating for peace, is incumbent on all of us! So, I picked up my guitar and started writing songs of !kē (care and peace.)

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Caitlin holds a Master’s in Organizational Leadership and a PhD in Agricultural Extension and Leadership Development. Her passion and interest with peacebuilding comes from her work with refugee communities, research, and academic fields. Caitlin shares, “my work with post-disaster populations throughout the resettlement process has allowed me to see the importance of building communities of peace and celebrations of difference, especially in situations where individuals have been forcibly marginalized through violence and oppression.”

Outside of her academic career, she is involved in holistic healing and support services/groups surrounding religious trauma and transitions. A fun fact about Caitlin is that she was recruited for the USA Olympic synchronized swimming team. While she didn’t pursue the professional athlete path, she continues “to use water as an aesthetic connection to nature, another world for creative expression and movement.”

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Huma is a lawyer by profession, currently based in Kashmir. She holds an LLM from the University of Bristol, UK with a specialization in International Human Rights Law. Her research and interests are centered around gender justice, human rights, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and transitional justice. She explains, “growing up in an environment where human rights violations are rampant and regard for legal justice minimal induced me with an interest in conflict resolution and peacebuilding…I am passionate about exploring the intersectional feminist approach to peacebuilding.”

A recommended read from Huma is The Black Unicorn, a collection of poems by her favorite Audre Lorde. One of her best-loved quotes is from one of the poems, “May I never lose that terror that keeps me brave; reminding me of embracing vulnerability as my greatest strength.”

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Jean-Pierre holds a PhD in Peacebuilding and a Master’s in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies. Working in the peacebuilding field for more than ten years, he has implemented peacebuilding projects at the grassroots level working with local community leaders, establishing peace committees. Currently, JP is the Peace and Stability Program Specialist with USAID /DRC based in Kinshasa. JP shares, “since my childhood, I have been obsessed with working for peace and bringing a smile to the face of the vulnerable through my peace work.”

JP is passionate about soccer, reading, and nourishing himself in nature. A quote that inspires JP comes from Einstein, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

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Melissa identifies as a ‘re-emerging peacebuilder.’ She’s been a journalist for roughly 45 years, covering conflict in America, the Middle East, and Africa based in Cape Town, South Africa. Melissa shares, “it’s here that most of my peacebuilding work has happened, and hopefully will happen further: creating and running media projects to help manage/transform conflict, either independently through our production company, Ubuntu TV and Film Productions, and our NGO, the Media Peace Centre back in the nineties/early 2000s, or working with South Africa’s National Peace Secretariat.” She’s also taught, trained, and edited various magazines.

Melissa is passionate about human rights, writing, reading, music, film, animals, the environment, conservation, relationships, travel, and adventure. A fun fact about Melissa is she is currently writing her second novel and just finished a screenplay based on the same story. She recommends a book she read in 5th grade, ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’ by Alan Paton.

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Otile is a fourth year medical student with a Bachelor’s Degree in medicine and surgery. As a volunteer, he has been working with the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative, an NGO that works tirelessly to empower the youth and rehabilitate war affected people. Cleo’s path into this work is personal. “I too lost relatives during the rebel war attacks. In this volunteer work I learn to listen and understand people's history, and this enabled me to know why most people behave in a way they do behave.”

Cleos interests include sports, meditation, and anything that brings joy and fitness. His entertainment recommendation is ‘Vampire Diaries’ because it’s “full of love, protection, devotion, and risk-taking.”

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Stephen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from St. Peter’s College and a Master’s in Theology from All Nations Anglican Church Academy Texas, USA. Ordained as a parish priest, he is actively involved in ministry, community, and charity work. For the past several years, Adi has volunteered in many organizations including Pakigdait Inc., Red Cross Philippines, EcoWEB. All of his efforts center around youth engagement, advocacy, ecosystem rehabilitation, and interfaith work. He shares, “I choose to become a peacebuilder not only for organization work, but for peacebuilding as a lifestyle…which means that I carry every single day or minute in my life as a peacebuilder, the way I treat people especially those surrounding me including my family and the community.”

Stephen is also passionate about skateboarding and music, specifically the punk genre, playing instruments like guitar and drums since childhood. A fun fact about Stephen is that some people call him the coolest priest in the town. His all-time favorite movie is ‘Forrest Gump.’ He explains, “this movie taught me how we can live life in a simple way, that along the way anything could happen, it is just a matter how we handle things.”

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Valerie has been part of the California Community College system working with students for over 35 years; twenty-five of those years were spent specifically working with developing student leaders. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology. A strong believer in lifelong learning, she started taking classes during the pandemic “to better understand the world around me.” She completed a degree in Peace Studies which led her to Euphrates. Valerie is a servant leader and believes that she must be the one that sets the example for others to follow. She has been volunteering in some aspect her whole life. Currently, she serves on a foundation called VolunteerNetwork OC to network volunteers with serving the homeless by providing meals, clothes, and general everyday necessities.

In addition to her volunteer work and spending time with family, Valerie loves to hike, camp, backpack, spend time at the beach and read. “Being in nature is where I renew my energy. One of the most exciting places that I have backpacked is down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Where I spent a week at the Havasupai Indian Reservation.”

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Anisa holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching English Language. She works in international school programs contributing to program planning and intercultural collaborations between her school and students around the world. The focus of Anisa’s work is peace education, leadership, human rights, no hate speech, and environment. Anisa is a facilitator, trainer, youth leader, certified climate educator, and equity defender. Her gift is providing face-to-face and online learning programs for global participants of varying experience levels.

“One of my favorite things to do is listen to music as it makes me forget about my issues for a moment, bringing me peace. My perfect day would start with music and end with music.”

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Ehsan was in his last semester studying communications and journalism at Kabul University when he experienced the collapse of the Afghanistan government. Unable to complete his studies, he fled his country and is currently living in exile. As a journalist, Ehsan has worked in different media as a reporter, announcer, producer, and manager of an online Afghanistan newspaper. In addition to his pursuit of higher education, he has pursued his interests in public speaking, leadership, time management, effective communication, goal setting, peace leadership, computers, English language, and language teaching methodology. Ehsan shares, “the main reason I chose peacebuilding is that in our country we didn’t experience a peaceful society. There is only one ambition in Afghans’ heart which is peace.”

Ehsan is interested in reading books, writing, reading and writing poems, playing and watching football, talking to people and making people laugh.

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Grace holds a Master’s in Earth Futures. Currently, she works as a lecturer at Share-World Open University in Malawi. Grace has pursued independent research as an individual and as part of an interdisciplinary team on human-environment relations in Malawi, with a particular focus on climate change, community development, sustainability, citizen science, and creative methodologies.

She is a climate change activist and believes that climate change does not only compromise our food and water supply, but causes severe inequality and, therefore, tension and potential conflicts. She further shares, “an effective peacebuilding architecture should be responsive to the fact that climate change is not a marginal issue in sustainable development policies. I joined the Peace Practice Alliance so that I can be well equipped with skills and expertise in the peacebuilding process in relation to climate change.”

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Issah is a young peacebuilder and a community activist. He holds a mini-MBA in Leadership from Accra Business School and a Diploma in Basic Education from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Issah founded a youth-led peacebuilding NGO during his studies at Teacher Training College. He has experience working with youth, local authorities, and religious and traditional leaders at the local level. Issah explains that his desire to go into peacebuilding “can be hinged on the idea [to] act local, think global. The unfortunate terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka and New Zealand during the early months of 2019 necessitated my venturing into peacebuilding.”

Issah likes to talk, travel and eat Touzaafi with bito (a local dish). He recommends the song “Yaga Yaga” (plenty plenty) by Ghanaian International Artist, Wiyaala.

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Jenny is an internationally accredited facilitator working to pioneer compassion, mindfulness, resilience, and values training. She has worked in the education, judicial, health care, and public sectors. Jenny has a background in Human Rights Law and has focused her work on “youth at risk” over the last decade. She is motivated to promote impartiality and social justice and is currently working on designing curriculum to promote values based decisions for magistrates and prosecutors in Southern Africa. Jenny is currently offering training in the area of inner-decision making, focusing on developing values as skills for youths, and people from all walks of life.

She is passionate about helping to restore a sense of dignity and promoting our natural capacity for compassion. Jenny is the Co-Founder and Director of Mindfulness Africa and currently serves on the Board of CTII (The Cape Town Interfaith Initiative).

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Muda holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and a Postgraduate Diploma in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding from Lady Shri Ram College for Women. She is driven by her interests at the intersection of gender, human rights, militarization, and conflict transformation. Currently, Muda works as a research associate, working on international development and intersectionality.

Sharing a bit about her path to peacebuilding, Muda explains, “I live in a conflict zone where people strive for little moments of peace — peacebuilding then is a coping mechanism.” You can find her humming Coke Studio Pakistan music as she finds it very therapeutic. A fun fact about Muda is apparently she has zero control over her laughter, especially in serious situations.

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Raashied has an MPhil in Media Studies from the University of Stellenbosch. For the past 25 years, he has worked in the development/NGO sector in areas of human rights, media freedom, gender equity, women’s health, HIV/AIDS, land rights, and rural development. Raa has also always been drawn to matters of deep spirituality and exploring the intricacies of different religions. For him, the path of a peace leader is his current life journey.

The ocean, whether looking at it, listening to it, or jumping into it, is Raa’s abiding passion and emphatically feels there’s “no better relaxation than a good dance.” He’s a comic enthusiast and an avid gardener. He explains, “For the past two years I’ve been transforming my suburban garden into a household food farm.”

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Thùy, also known as Daisy, is a life-long learner, community server, truth seeker and spiritual practitioner. She is passionate about ageless wisdom, esoteric philosophy, and the universal laws of life. Daisy is deeply interested in holistic education, green living, sustainable development, cosmology, psychology, and astrology. Sharing a bit about her journey as a peace leader, Daisy explains, “as Vietnam was the country that had suffered much from war throughout our history, I want to contribute my humble part in healing our land. Moreover, I know the important role of peace for a sustainable future world. Thus, it all leads me to choose peacebuilding.”

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Wilson is a university student majoring in Education Physics. He has been working with primary and secondary school students, motivating them to continue their studies, helping them to solve challenges that they face each and every day, and encouraging them to reach their goals. He believes that peacebuilding is “a long-term process of encouraging people to talk, repairing relationships, and reforming institutions.” His desire is to create seminars that will create a space for transformation and bridge-building that will solve conflict.

Wilson's current initiative is an organization he founded with friends called Youth Empowerment and Environment Management (YEEM), promoting academic excellence and the love of wildlife.

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Atifa studied Curative Medicine in Kabul until her 4th year when she was forced to leave her country in August 2021. Atifa currently lives in Berlin. In Kabul, she worked as a researcher, undertaking projects with many national and international NGOs. Experiencing the impacts of war throughout her life, Atifa realized the need for peacebuilders and peace activists in Afghanistan. “During my research trips around Afghanistan I met people, mainly women and children, who were affected by war so badly. Therefore, I decided to work as a peacebuilder to contribute in making peace, even though on small levels.”

Atifa has a love of adventures, travelling, reading novels, writing stories/narratives and watching movies. Her current book recommendation is “A Fraction of the Whole'' by Steve Toltz, and her recommended movie is from Bollywood “Zindagi Na Milege Dobara” by Zoya Akhtar.

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Eleonora shares time between Rome, Italy and Lugano, Switzerland. She has a Master’s in Arabic and Islamic Studies and in Languages for Communication in International Enterprises and Organizations. Additionally, she is a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at the Faculty of Theology of Lugano with a joint program at La Cattolica University in Milan. Eleonora’s research deals with Muslim-Christian relations and LGBTQ+ issues in Europe. She is researching how interfaith dialogue can help LGBTQ+ people to feel more accepted by their religious communities.

“I choose peacebuilding, because interfaith dialogue is strongly linked to this field, and I strongly believe that it is fundamental to unite my academic interests with my activist aim. I hope that as fellows, we will be able to create a network despite differences and distances.”

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Henry Akajiaku Uzodimma Ugochukwu holds a certificate in Agricultural Mechanization and a National Diploma in Cooperative and Management Studies. He is the Founder and Director of Youths With Potentials Initiative, as well as a pioneer member of Child Shield Initiatives. He currently serves as a Pastor and an advocate for peace and progressive living among youths with diverse ethnicities in Nigeria.

Growing up, he wanted to be a military man and a lawyer, after seeing many unresolved conflicts, oppressions, and deprivation in the society, especially in youth development. But, after becoming a Pastor, he discovered that peace is not gotten by strength and force. He discovered that peacebuilding is the key to a quantum leap in progress and youth are at the forefront of every development in a community.

He is a soccer lover and pundit, Arsenal fan for life, and hopes one day to be in the Emirates stadium running around and dancing.

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Ashariy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History at Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. Since graduating, she’s been working in an interfaith grassroots peacebuilding civil society organization focused on youth and women empowerment. One of her mottos is the saying “nothing beats experience.” She is a child of war, experiencing armed conflict between the Philippines government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Ash shares, “I saw how the non-Moro, especially those who are not living in my town, disliked the Moro because of what happened. But basing on the narratives of the people involved in war: both armed and civilians, there should be no hate feeling. And that introduced me to peacebuilding.”

Ashariy loves soothing music like jazz, classical, bossa nova, island music and more. She is a foodie, she likes to cook and eat and dislikes the word “gym.” Ashariy recommends the song “Zombie” by The Cranberries.

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Juan Felipe has a Bachelor’s Degree in History and a PhD in Political Science from Sciences Po Lyon. He has worked as an education project leader for different institutions and writes weekly columns for the Colombian newspaper El Espectador. Juan Felipe has been selected for the 2022 Rotary Peace Fellowship in Thailand and is committed on a voluntary basis for the organisation Education for Global Peace (EGP). Since 2020, he has been working as a peacebuilding advisor at GIZ-CPS Kenya.

Juan Felipe is passionate about peace education, peacebuilding, and diversity & inclusion, and enjoys offering seminars and training on these topics. He shares, “I chose peacebuilding because I truly believe one can complete their own life by helping others to live in harmony. In that sense, I look forward to sharing this feeling with other fellows.” He strongly recommends the beautiful graphic novel Maus, a story about a Holocaust survivor.

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Nathan holds a Ugandan Advanced Certificate in Education and Certificate in Community Policing. He is passionate about learning and trying new things. His deep desire is to be a global flag bearer of peace and conflict resolution. He shares, “I won't say I'm an expert in peace, but I notice that if I have learned something, I can implement it in my community in Uganda.”

Nathan is interested in supporting the youth in his country and hopes to share all that he learns in order to sow seeds of peace. Nathan recommends the novel ‘Gifted Hands’ by Ben Carson.

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Ronilia (Rony) is a medical laboratory scientist working on vaccine trials in Sierra Leone. She has been practicing laboratory science for the past six years. Rony considers herself a heartipeacist, a term she coined meaning “a person with a kind heart and one who is able to bring reconciliation between two factors to foster mutual respect and understanding to resolve conflict.” She has a thirst for knowledge and a drive to find solutions. Inspired by the saying “you don’t give what you don’t have,” Rony is always in the pursuit of knowledge that helps her be of service to others.

Rony loves nature, wildlife, and sports, specifically track & field and football. She explains, “football allows me to see and have deep thoughts of the physiological aspect and not just watching a match but to see beyond what is visible to the ordinary spectator.” If she wasn’t pursuing a career as a lab scientist, she would have loved to be a football analyst.

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Ugo is a graduate of electrical/electronic engineering. She has worked in the maintenance and IT units in a media company based in Nigeria. In addition to her work as an engineer, she is passionate about serving humanity as an ambassador of peace. Ugo shared her ambitious vision for the world, “may we all have a dream that every neighbor is a friend. I want every neighbor to be my friend. I want every neighbor of my neighbor to be friends. It's a ripple effect. You start small and keep expanding.” She hopes to bring this vision into secondary schools in her community, working with young people to stop the cycle of violence at a young age.

Believing deeply in the multiplier effect, Ugo is inspired by the saying “no effort in the right direction is too little to make a global impact.” She recommends the song “Happy New Year” by ABBA. “I am particularly thrilled by the line ‘May we all have a vision now and then of a world where every neighbor is a friend.’”

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Zelda is a student of community, education, and life coaching. She has completed many certifications including Education Training and Development in Adult Learning, National Certificate in Community Development, and Life Coaching. Zelda has worked in community development for the past 17 years. She is passionate about addressing climate change and organizing peace programs for young people. Zelda has witnessed deep transformation in the community gardens she helps organize in the informal settlements in her country.

Zelda loves listening to music, hiking, beach walks, writing poetry, and acting. Her favorite movie is The Sound of Music and her favorite song is “Dying Inside to Hold You” by Timmy Thomas.