2007-08 Master's Students
Asnia Asim
Asnia Asim was most recently employed by the World Bank's South Asia Human Development unit in Washington, D.C., where she researched and assisted the Health Nutrition and Population Management Team in developing its next five-year strategy to effectively combat communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the region. Asim won the 2005 World Bank International Essay Competition for her work "A for Altruism, B for Brotherhood and C for Compassion." The essay proposed an idea to bridge children across the globe via educational curriculum and activities that are built around the concept of understanding and tolerance for different cultures, nationalities, ethnicities and appearances. Asim has represented Pakistan as a youth participant at the South Asia Youth Meeting in New Delhi, chaired by the then-president of World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, and later at the World Bank Regional Management Retreat in Lahore. She has written and published articles on Pakistan's developmental and economic issues and has published an anthology of poems, "Politically Incorrect." The government of Sindh and the Institute of Business Administration, where she recently graduated as an honors student, have awarded her grants and certificates of recognition.
Sarah Bawaya
Sarah Bawaya is an employee of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) in Rwanda, a place that works to educate Rwandans on the importance of peaceful social cohesion. There, she worked with the department of Peace and Leadership (2001-2003) and now she heads the Syllabus Development and Training program. Sarah attended the National University of Rwanda, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in administration and planning of education in 1999. Bawaya received the Alan B. Slifka scholarship.
Irenee Bugingo
Irenee Bugingo is a researcher at the Rwandan Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace, where he has published on such topics as the rule of law in Rwanda. He graduated from the National University of Rwanda, earning a bachelor’s degree in law; he then went on to become a part-time lecturer while working as a legal adviser in tax administration. Bugingo has also completed the coursework for the Master of Law program at the National University of Rwanda. He received a Fullbright scholarship.
Madhumita Datta
Madhumita Datta is the chief reporter of AAJKAAL, a leading Bengali newspaper. She covered the tragic riots in Gujarat and subsequently published a book on the topic, "Raktomakha Chhai (Blood Smeared Ashes)." She also published a book on human behavior in cyberspace, "Cyber Santras (Cyber Terrorism)."
Madhumita is a social activist, working with underprivileged students from her local community. To help increase awareness, she made a documentary film on the subject and formed an organization of over 1,000 members that aids underprivileged students in her country through a networking Web site.
Madhumita attended the month-long International Visitor Leadership Program in 2006 hosted by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational Affairs in Washington, D.C. Most of her colleagues represented other South Asian countries, including Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Madhumita received a master of journalism and a bachelor of arts in geography from the University of Calcutta, India.
Zafar Habib
Zafar Habib received a master of philosophy degree in international relations from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan (2004). He taught at the International Islamic University, Islamabad and Quaid-i-Azam University.
His most recent association was with USAID on parliamentary strengthening in Pakistan. He has been associated with a number of studies on democracy, elections, political parties and parliamentary development in Pakistan. He most recently co-authored the publication "Democratization in Pakistan: a Study of Election, 2002."
Previously, he worked on a Ford foundation project on the State of Democracy in South Asia with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, India. His area of expertise is South, South West and Central Asian strategic and political economic concerns. His research focuses on security structures in Pakistan and the region, political Islam, transnational groups, democratization and institutional building in Pakistan.
Godfrey Mwijage
Godfrey Mwijage is the assistant community services officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR) in Kibondo, Tanzania. For the past seven years, he has been responsible for the overall coordination of provision of social services and education to refugees in Kibondo camps, amongst many other responsibilities, which include organizing programs for groups of refugees needing special care such as the disabled, the elderly, and vulnerable women and children.
Mwijage has been a focal person in designing, establishing and implementing peace-building projects for women and the youth, such as a women's peace group, school peace clubs and the development of peace manuals for Burundian refugee schools. He has worked closely with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the UN Women Fund and the Lutheran World Federation .
Before joining UNHCR, Mwijage worked as a camp manager for Burundian refugee camps with the Tanzanian Red Cross Society in Kasulu, Tanzania. He volunteered during the massive Rwandan refugee influx at Benaco camps, which followed a Rwandan genocide in 1994.
He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Dar Es Salaam and received a Fulbright scholarship.
Sunil Kumar Pokhrel
Sunil Kumar Pokhrel is a development activist working in the field of awareness creation, peace and conflict management in social, economic and cultural issues in Nepal. He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Institution of Engineers in Calcutta and a master's degree in development studies from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands. He currently serves as chairman of Forum for Development and Awareness in Nepal, a group that advocates work in human rights, conflict and peace building.
Ethan Schechter
Ethan Schechter most recently served as a senior program assistant in the education program of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, D.C., a federally funded institution working to prevent and resolve violent international conflict and to promote post-conflict stability. He supported a number of the education program's activities working with secondary-school teachers and college and university faculty. He also served as a program instructor for USIP's annual National Peace Essay Contest for high school students.
From 2002 to 2003, Schechter worked as a program coordinator at the Seeds of Peace Center for Conflict Resolution in Jerusalem, where he organized joint workshops and activities for Israeli and Palestinian youth. In Jerusalem, he also worked as an assistant editor of The Olive Branch magazine.
Schechter has spent two summers working as counselor at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine, instructing outdoor sports activities for youth from conflict regions including the Middle East, South Asia, Cyprus and the Balkans. He holds a bachelor's degree in government and international relations from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
Endah Setyowati
Endah Setyowati has worked at the Center for Study and Promotion of Peace at Duta Wacana Christian University since 1999. There, she designs training programs, gives training and facilitates and conducts conflict assessment.
She holds a bachelor's degree in history and a master’s degree in peace and conflict resolution from Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. She has participated in researching ethnic conflict in Indonesia and received a Ford Foundation Scholarship.
Lotee "Titus" Shau
Lotee "Titus" Shau is the program coordinator at Actionaid International Kenya, where he works to enhance the poor and those with marginalized rights. He has also organized peace-building campaigns to fight the negative impacts of resource competition that most often result in war.
He is a board member of the anti-corruption body in the West Pokot District of Kenya. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Moi University and received a Ford Foundation Scholarship.
Isha Wright
Isha Wright’s interest in the field of peace and conflict resolution accelerated when she started working as a human-rights officer at Campaign for Good Governance in 2001. There she became a leading figure in the promotion and protection of human rights, justice and the rule of law, focusing especially on women's and children's rights.
As a witness to the devastating 10-year civil war in her country, Sierra Leone, Wright recognizes the importance of a nation’s efforts to address an ugly and violent past. She worked extensively with No Peace Without Justice, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in various capacities.
Wright is a past fellow of the ICTJ and hopes to continue her work in Sierra Leone and other war-afflicted regions in the promotion and protection of justice, peace, respect for human rights and good governance. She holds a master's degree in human rights from Columbia University in New York.