John Ashworth, a peacebuilder with nearly 30 years of experience in Sudan and South Sudan, has joined the Kroc Institute as a Kroc-Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Fellow. He will be based at the Kroc Institute until mid-April, 2013.
Ashworth, a consultant to CRS on Sudan and South Sudan and an advisor to the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has been working in the country since 1983, focusing on humanitarian aid and peace advocacy. At the Kroc Institute, he will work on a book on lessons learned during a pivotal time of conflict and peacebuilding in Sudan, focusing on culture, religion, conflict, aid and development.
In July 2011, Sudan became two separate countries: Sudan and South Sudan. While decades of civil war have ended, conflicts persist in Sudan's border regions.
Ashworth has served as the director of Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan, a church-based humanitarian aid organization working in Southern Sudan, and regional director of Pax Christi in East Africa. He also worked as the director of Sudan Focal Point – Africa, a peace advocacy organization, working on behalf of the Sudan Ecumenical Forum in Nairobi, Kenya and Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a master’s degree in spirituality from Gonzaga University.
The Kroc Institute and Catholic Relief Services have sponsored the CRS-Kroc fellowships for seven years. Past fellows have come from Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, and Rwanda.