The Institute welcomes 24 new students in its Master of Arts program in Peace Studies. Students have come from 17 countries around the world. Among this year’s class, three are Fulbright scholars, one received a Muskie/Freedom Support Act Fellowship, and one was awarded a Mackenzie King Traveling Scholarship.

Raouf Ahanger (INDIA), 33, earned a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication at the University of Kashmir in 1997. He has served as anchor, script writer and director for television documentaries and news programs. In 1996, Raouf joined the staff of Kashmir Images, a leading English language daily. He also worked as executive director of the Institute for Reconciliation in Jammu and Kashmir, and is secretary of the Kasmir Foundation for Peace and Development Studies.

Anna Arroyo (MEXICO and USA), 26, is a Mexicanborn immigrant to the United States and a 2002 graduate of Georgetown University, where she studied foreign service. Anna has served as U.S. assistant director for program development for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin Coalition and as program assistant to the Northeast Mexico Program of the Nature Conservancy.

Oldrich Bures (THE CZECH REPUBLIC), 24, earned a master’s degree in political science and European studies at Palacky University in 2002, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. Olda joined the information service of the People In Need Foundation, which provides the Czech public with information on international crises, violations of human rights and global issues. He attends the Kroc Institute as a Fulbright scholar.

Mark Canavera (USA), 26, graduated from Furman University in 1999, then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso. He taught English and math in a village secondary school for two years and was a volunteer leader during his third year. While in West Africa, Mark developed several girls’ education initiatives and implemented HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention projects.

Marissa (Pay) de Guzman (THE PHILIPPINES), 24, is a 1999 graduate of the University of the Philippines, where she studied philosophy and sociology. For three years she conducted research on development issues for Focus on the Global South, a program of development, policy research, and advocacy, and organized conferences in Bangkok, Seoul and Okinawa. Most recently, Pay served as Philippine coordinator for the Land Research Action Network, which pursues the equitable redistribution of land and resources.

Brenda Fitzpatrick (CANADA), 31, is a 1995 graduate of McGill University and in 2000 earned a diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo. She has been active in environmental issues in Western Canada and has worked in Kenya as a volunteer HIV-AIDS educator and with the Sudan Track II diplomacy Project run by Africa Peace Forum. As Grassroots Peacebuilding Officer with Oxfam-Quebec, she worked to incorporate community peacebuilding components into a health care project in South Sudan. Brenda is the recipient of a Mackenzie King Traveling Scholarship.

Blanche Munah Hyde (SIERRA LEONE), 31, is a 1998 graduate of the University of Sierra Leone. For four years, Munah worked for Handicap International, which provides physical and psychological rehabilitation to war victims in Sierra Leone. Recently Munah has worked with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) as administrative assistant in the medical clinic.

Lola Ibragimova (KYRGYZSTAN), 22, is a 2003 graduate of American University Central Asia. Lola was an exchange student in Arkansas and on her return to Bishkek in 1999 she organized Amnesty International Kyrgyzstan, the only Amnesty group in Central Asia, and initiated a
human rights education program for rural youth. She was the only non-European invited to join the Youth Directorate of the Council of Europe, where she worked to empower minority leaders of non-governmental
organizations.

Elizabeth Jordan (USA), 22, is a 2003 Michigan State University graduate. Elizabeth helped to establish the undergraduate specialization in Peace and Justice Studies at MSU and served on the specialization’s advisory committee. Her interest in social justice led her to Cuba to study race relations there in 2002, which culminated in her capstone paper for Peace and Justice Studies. In 2001 she worked with a high school Peace Center supervising peer mediations.

Jean-Marie Kamatali (RWANDA), 36, is a graduate of the National University of Rwanda and received a doctorate in law at the University of Graz-Austria in 1998. Jean- Marie has previously studied at Lafayette College, the University of Vienna, and Uppsala University. From 1998- 2003 he taught and served as dean of the law faculty at the National University of Rwanda. Jean-Marie has been a consultant to international organizations, including FAO, UNICEF, the Danish Center for Human Rights and Lux-Development.

Zo Sai Kunga (BURMA), 31, is a graduate of Zomi Theological College in Burma and in 2003 earned a master’s degree from Alliance Biblical Seminary in the Philippines. Kunga was one of the founders of Falam Social Welfare Society, where he served as financial secretary from
1995-97. Since 1998, he has continued activism on behalf of the people of Burma through Initiatives for International Dialogues, the secretariat of the Free Burma Coalition (Philippines). He was a founding member of the Asian Peace Alliance in 2002.

Zafer Mohammad (PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY), 29, is a 1996 graduate
of An Najah National University in the West Bank. After college, Zafer taught English literature at the Arab Scientific High School in Ramallah and served as Youth Projects Coordinator for the Palestinian Ministry of Youth and Sports. For five years he directed the Palestinian Youth Council, and also established and directed the Palestinian Youth Forum
for Development and Peace.

Joshua Moore (USA), 30, studied international relations and development at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1995. For two years he served as inter-cultural program associate at the Minnesota International Center. From 2000 to 2003 he worked in Senegal with Africa Consultants International, where he designed and coordinated study abroad programs for 15 university groups each year and implemented programs in experiential learning and community service.

Ann-Sofie Nyman (FINLAND), 25, earned a master’s degree in political science from Abo Akademi University in 2000. As a member of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, Ann-Sofie has seen the importance of a welldeveloped system of minority protection. In addition to internships at the European Parliament and the UN, she conducted research on the human rights implications of the post-September 11 fight against terrorism for the Vienna-based International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

Camlus Ouma Omogo (KENYA), 29, is a 1999 graduate of Urbaniana University in Rome. He also earned a post-graduate diploma in planning and management of development projects at Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi. For three years Omogo worked with Security Research and Information Centre (SRIC). His research on crime in Kenya formed the core of SRIC’s publication Kenya Crime Survey Series. Omogo is a Fulbright Scholar.

Elias Omondi Opongo, S.J., (KENYA), 34, holds undergraduate degrees in philosophy from Saint Pierre Canisius in Kinshasa, and in theology from Hekima College (Catholic University of Eastern Africa) in Nairobi, and in 2003 earned a master’s (STL) from Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
For two years Omondi, a Jesuit priest, worked with refugees from Rwanda and Burundi under Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in northwestern Tanzania. From 1999-2001 he conducted UNESCO peace education workshops for teachers and refugees in Somalia, Yemen and Tanzania.

Chayanit (Nid) Poonyarat (THAILAND), 24, is a 2001 political science graduate of Thammasat University and spent a year as an exchange student in Virginia. Nid worked for two years as assistant for the Peace Information Center in Thailand. In 2001 she joined Inter Press Service Third World News Agency (Asia-Pacific) in Bangkok as correspondent and special assistant for the Greater Mekong media fellowship program.

Biljana Radonic (SERBIA & MONTENEGRO), 25, studied international affairs at John Cabot University in Rome, graduating in 2003. As a Serb from Croatia, Biljana was forcefully moved to Serbia and became a refugee in 1991. In 1998 she began undergraduate studies in Belgrade and worked as part of the Kosovo Verification Mission. In July 1999, when most Serbs were leaving Kosovo, Biljana joined the UN Mission in Kosovo, where she worked for a year before winning the Balkan Presidential Scholarship for study at John Cabot University.

Mirak Raheem (SRI LANKA), 25, is a 2001 graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. Mirak interned at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and at the Verification Education Research Training Centre in London, where he worked on Middle East issues. In 2003, as coordinator of the Peace and Conflict Unit at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Mirak studied informal dispute resolution in the northeast and demilitarization in the north of Sri Lanka. Mirak is a Fulbright Scholar.

Rebecca Steinmann (CANADA), 27, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo, where in 2003 she also earned a post-graduate diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies. Rebecca’s passion for peace and conflict transformation is rooted in her Mennonite faith. During a term of service with Mennonite Central Committee in South Africa, she interned with ACCORD, a conflict resolution center, and helped build relationships through mixed-race living experiences in Durban. She has also served as
a mediator for Community Justice Initiatives in Ontario.

Deniz Ugur (TURKEY), 23, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration from Fatih University in 2003. Deniz describes himself as a member of Anatolian Society, rather than a member of any religious or ethnic group. He participated in the Fatih University project ‘Peace Studies in Palestine for the Next Century.’ He has been researching the Nur Movement, a moderate interpretation of Islam, as a means for reconciling democracy and Islam.

Joshua Vander Velde (USA), 26, studied anthropology at the University of California-Santa Cruz and spent an exchange year in North India. After graduating in 2000, he helped synagogues throughout the United States and Canada to strengthen their social justice programming as coordinator of the Social Justice Initiative of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation in Philadelphia. Josh lived in Jerusalem for six months in 2003, studying Hebrew and Arabic and volunteering with the Arab-Jewish partnership Ta’ayush and other peace efforts.

Irene Zirimwabagabo (RWANDA), 23, studied journalism and political science at Rhodes University, South Africa, graduating in 2002.. Irene’s parents were forced into exile in Uganda during Rwanda’s first genocidal violence during the 1950s. Irene was born in Kenya and grew up in Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. She was finally able to visit Rwanda and obtain citizenship after the 1994 genocide. After graduation she joined the African Development Bank in Cote d’Ivoire to work on anti-corruption programs. She is writing a semi-autobiographical book titled How We Made Rwanda Our Home Again.

Lidia Zubytska (UKRAINE), 22, graduated in 2002 from Lviv Ivan Franko National University. Lidia spent an exchange year at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. After resuming her studies in Lviv, Lidia focused on the theory of communication and ecumenical dialogue, particularly between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Ukraine. She is the recipient of a Muskie/Freedom Support Act graduate fellowship for study at Notre Dame.

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