Personal Story in Compendium:
I am a former Refugee in Kenya from Uganda fleeing Political despotism. Uganda has seen more than 20 years of civil war and lost close to 2 million people during that time. With reprobate leaders like Idi Amin Dada, Milton Obote and others, the country was steeped in brutal rivalry between tribes and warlords. Today Uganda fights another form of war against HIV/AIDS, which has itself claimed thousands of Ugandans over the last ten years. I have personally lost more relatives to HIV/AIDS than the civil wars combined! Fortunately today the country is on a come back politically as one of the emerging democracies on the African Continent.
Education:
MS. Economic Development, Eastern University Philadelphia PA 1993
BA. Business Administration, Messiah College and Daystar University Nairobi Kenya 1992
Minor: Communication. Daystar University.
Certification: Conflict Resolution and Mitigation, University of Ottawa 1994
Employment:
Organization: Congressional Hunger Center, W.D.C 1995-96
Title: Associate for the Africa Desk --to Executive Director Gene Dewey (currently undersecretary of Populations and Migration)
Organization: American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Atlanta GA 1996-98
Title: Program Director, Southern Africa Peace Education and Development office.
Organization: Amnesty International USA, Atlanta GA 1999-2002
Title: Deputy Regional Director, Southeast region.
Organization: Currently at CARE International, 2003-current
Title: Advocacy Field Coordinator, Southeast region
Highlights and achievements:
During my tenure at the Congressional Hunger Center I was sited as a consultant for Bread for the World on their 1996 World Hunger report project. I focused on the famine in Eastern Africa.
Was asked by the Carter Center to join President Jimmy Carter in the Election Monitoring Delegation to Sierra Leone in 2002.
Board member of the United Nations Association in Georgia.
Board Member and cofounder of the East-Africa American Business Council. We have organized four Trade summits geared towards bridging the gap between businesses in the USA and East Africa.
Have given more than 200 speeches on several issue areas that I have specialized in for my entire career. These issues include: HIV/AIDS, Debt Crisis in Africa, Structural Adjustment Plans and their effects on African Policy, Land mines and their role in stagnating Economic Development, the role of Human Rights in neo-democracies in Africa, Child Soldiers and Constituency Building/Advocacy for Non Profits.
I am currently writing a book on Constituency Building for Non Profits.
During my work with the American Friends Service committee (AFSC) I co-lead a team charged to help set up a Peace Center in the Great Lake region following the Rwandan Genocide in the early 1990’s. This work, lead us to visit all three East African Countries looking for potential partners of social justice and peace in the region. We finally setup the peace center in Rwanda.
I have been featured in several newspapers addressing Amnesty International’s Concerns e.g. Stun Gun usage by Police, FGM, Refugees, HIV/AIDS and so forth.
And Lastly I was charged by Amnesty International to represent the Organization as a liaison between the membership and the staff on the HIV/AIDS Task force and research team. In principle as a team, we were asked to draw the link between Amnesty International’s work and the role it ought to play in the fight against HIV/AIDS Globally. We also had to come up with a human rights framework that protects those people, communities and nations on the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Currently: I work as CARE’s Advocacy Field Coordinator for the SE region.
With CARE I have been commissioned to build a grass tops and grass roots effort of support geared towards speaking out for the poor around the world. For so long our message of helping the poor has mostly resided in the homes of those concerned about the state of the world’s poor. Today we want that same concern to penetrate the hallways of Congress, so that the policy decisions that come out of congress are more friendly to the least of us. Priority areas include: HIV/AIDS, Education and Maternal and Family health.
An extra year of secondary school boosts a girl’s eventual wages 15 to 25%.