December 2014 Newsletter
As the weather in Chicago cools down, the work of the Goldin Institute around the world is heating up! Take a look at our latest work as we begin to look forward to the new year–and beyond.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation
ESPERE Project Expands International Reach
On November 21 and 22 the Perdon Y Cuidado (Forgiveness and Care) conference was held in Mexico City, Mexico. Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa helped to coordinate this international conference exploring the ESPERE methodology first established in her home country of Colombia.
Key members of the Institute's team also took part including Denis Okello of Uganda, Sebastian Sosman and new Advisory Board member Akif Irfan (pictured above). Our long-time partner Father Leonel Narvaez of the Colombian peace-building organization Foundation for Reconciliation delivered a powerful keynote address emphasizing that dialogue without understanding has limited results.
[quote]Violence is the failure of dialogue."[/quote]
- Fr. Leonel Narvaez
Sebastian Sosman captured the spirit of Fr. Leonel's remarks and gives perspective in his personal reflections on how the ESPERE program is highly adaptable to other regions of the world.
[quote]"Mexico City 2014 was a courageous meeting that provided hope in achieving the intended aims of ESPERE and I believe we shall cause changes in the lives of the people who have been suffering from the 20 years insurgency by the LRA in Northern Uganda."[/quote]
- Denis Okello, Goldin Institute Uganda
For more photos and a complete summary of the Mexico City Event, please click here.
Good to the Last Drop
Clean Water Milestone in the Philippines
On November 10, our friends in the Philippines celebrated the significant accomplishment of completing access to clean water to 100% of the schools in the Kabuntalan municipality of the Maguindanao province!
Twelve water pumps were ceremoniously turned over as a result of the partnership between people of Maguindanao, the Goldin Institute, the Department of Education and the Philippine Army. In particular, we tip our hats to Dr. Susanna Anayatin and her team who understand that access to clean water has a ripple effect throughout the region.
One student offered his optimism created by a new well supplying clean water to an elementary school:
[quote]Despite the pitcher-water we had, we were always still searching for a source of water because it was not enough for our needs, now we have enough water for all of us."[/quote]
View the progress of the water project at our interactive map. We look forward to working with the Kabuntalan municipality as they serve as a model for other regions to working together to provide clean water to their residents.
Connecting the Dots in Kenya
Mapping the Social Capital of Kenya
The Goldin Institute's Executive Director Travis Rejman recently participated in a meeting convened by World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.
The Washington D.C. meeting gathered scholars, social-entrepreneurs and community leaders to discuss objectives, outputs and potential entry points for a planned research program in Kenya. Overall strategies were discussed to ensure that all of the resources working in Kenya could better coordinate and collaborate more effectively. A particular focus on strengthening the role of local leaders to help monitor transparency to break down the widespreadcorruption.
Because of his background and experience working on partnerships in Kenya and Uganda, Mr. Rejman was able to help explore the intersection of religious diversity and public policy challenges when working directly within the region.
Haiti in Chicago
Visiting the Haitian American Museum of Chicago
The Goldin Institute recently made a visit to the Haitian American Museum of Chicago (HAMOC) to coincide with their second anniversary. This was a significant milestone for Founder Elsie Hernandez, and also for the City of Chicago, as her plans for the museum dated back 12 years before finally being able to break ground in 2012.
The Museum is the first of its kind in the Midwest and was established to provide a space to promote Haitian history, culture and art. Given our work in Haiti, the HAMOC provides a natural partnership for outreach opportunities as it grows and evolves into a premier cultural institution in Chicago!
Next Newsletter
Watch our next newsletter for an exciting progress update from our partners around the world.
In the interim, get your Goldin Institute fix by jumping onto our Facebook page for the latest news as it happens and join the growing community dedicated to uplifting stories of grassroots partnerships around the world at the tumblr site GoGrassroots!
As always, if you have suggestions of individuals who may want to receive this e-newsletter or stories you think we should tell, contact us at news@goldininstitute.org.
Summer 2014 Newsletter
It has been a busy summer for us at the Goldin Institute! Visits from global advocates, interviews with local community leaders and progress with our partners around the globe have kept us moving forward both locally and abroad. We are thrilled to share this latest update with news from our recent work on the ground in Uganda and Zanzibar.
Watch a brief video overview of this newsletter:
Uganda
In June, Diane and Travis travelled to Uganda to participate in a training led by our Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa from Colombia. Lissette trained our partners in Uganda to use the ESPERE methodology. Developed in Colombia, the methodology is designed to engage the local community by using schools as centers for reconciliation for former child soldiers in the region.
The training took the form of an intensive eight day workshop wherein program participants learned about strategies to promote forgiveness and reconciliation and obtained tools to carry these ideas forward within their community. Sixteen individuals—including child combatants, teachers, counsellors and community members—from five different regions of Northern Uganda participated in the training.
From theoretical to tangible, the workshop began by developing the concepts that would lay the foundation for communities to reintegrate former combatants and develop resiliency against the practice in the future. Language barriers, cultural differences and preconceived notions quickly dissolved as the ESPERE program took root with participants and it became clear that the need for forgiveness and reconciliation, especially towards young combatants, is universal.
The first three days deconstructed the idea of forgiveness and what it means to forgive. Beyond verbally saying the words "I forgive you," workshop attendees learned that forgiveness requires tools, engaged with a thoughtful process, to fix problems that arise for both victims and perpetrators. In addition to a cultural perspective, forgiveness was presented through an academic and practical viewpoint, connecting with all participants in ways that honored and enhanced their personal and communal affiliations. Participants explored ways that forgiveness is instrumental in mending the societal fabric tattered by conflict. Over the next two days, participants were guided through approaches to reconciliation that highlighted the need for an individual to think about the bonds they are trying to fix and identify the terms on which a newly reconciled relationship can function. During this session, surprising connections occurred between everyone in the room. Even though the scars of war were etched in the hearts and minds of both participants and trainers coming from very different circumstances and regions, everyone shared the desire to return to a peaceful community without hostile relationships.
On the sixth day of the workshop, program participants now equipped with the conceptual foundation of forgiveness and reconciliation went through a "train the trainer" session. Lissette taught program participants the methodology behind the ESPERE program so they are able to lead the reintegration program themselves. Finally, the last two days of the program leveraged what was learned and developed plans to put this knowledge into practice. Program participants met with former child soldiers and created action plans based on their insights and aspirations. Speaking with former child soldiers allowed program participants to understand their needs through the new lenses of forgiveness and reconciliation. The first-hand perspectives of the former child soldiers also informed participants about gaps in their society that they could address. The attendees and eventual graduates put together action plans to concretely outline their next steps to carry forward the tools and knowledge gained in the workshop for an outcome that was beneficial and sustainable for their community.
Action plans created by program participants consisted of strategies to train between 15- 90 individuals of varying backgrounds on the ESPERE program throughout the Northern conflict zone of Uganda. By engaging former child soldiers, formerly abducted women, students and survivors of violence, the ESEPRE program will carry forward the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation with the aim of bringing peace to the community. The Goldin Institute is looking forward to partnering with these program participants who will lead community driven social change for reintegration.
Zanzibar
Following the training in Uganda, Travis and Diane headed to Zanzibar for a three-day Peace Camp hosted by our colleagues at the Arigatou Foundation and the Global Network of Religions for Children, an international interfaith network dedicated to securing the rights and well-being of children worldwide.
The event had youth participants from Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Each of these countries have experienced conflicts fueled by violent extremism. The Camp provided youth with the opportunity to share their experiences and come up with solutions that can prevent violent extremism, especially amongst the youth. Our partner from the Arigatou Foundation, Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali, convened this group of youth peace ambassadors from throughout the Horn of Africa region and facilitator Belall Maudarbux trained them in new approaches to stop the growing trend towards violent extremism in the region. Based on our work in Uganda and Zanzibar, the Goldin Institute is excited to expand our partnership over the coming months to scale up this youth peace ambassadors program throughout our network.
Haiti
Recently, KOFAVIV co-founder and 2012 CNN Hero of the Year Malya Villard-Appolon was in Chicago to update us on her work to provide social and legal support and combat sexual violence against women and girls in Haiti. While she was here, she courageously shared her story in a taped segment that aired on National Public Radio's Worldview program as part of a show dedicated to current issues in Haiti. In addition to the interview with Malya about her efforts to stop sexual and gender based violence in Haiti, the hour-long program included a live panel discussion on the latest legal proceedings to hold the U.N. accountable for the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
A Look Forward
Watch our next newsletter for an exciting progress update from our partners in the Philippines and an exciting new online initiative that will profile innovative grassroots leaders and initiatives from around the world.
If you have suggestions of individuals who may want to receive this e-newsletter or stories you think we should tell, please contact us at news@goldininstitute.org
Goldin Institute Successfully Returns to Uganda
This June, Institute co-founders Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman returned to Uganda to participate in our first ever cross-continental Child Soldier Reintegration and Reconciliation Training Workshops. Because of her work in developing and using the ESPERE methodology in her native Colombia, our Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa was the natural candidate to lead the training in Uganda.
Before bringing this project to Africa, Lissette worked closely with our partner and her advisor, Fr. Leonel Narvaez designing and successfully testing the ESPERE methodology to engage local communities by using schools as centers for reconciliation for former child soldiers in the region. We highlighted their work and what this looks like on-the-ground in Colombia in previous reports.
To best adapt the training to our colleagues in Africa, an intensive eight-day workshop was conducted wherein participants learned about the key concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation, and obtained tools to carry these ideas forward within their communities.
In all, Lissette successfully trained 16 individuals made up of child combatants, teachers, crisis counselors and community members. These participants represented five different regions of Northern Africa and because each certified trainer committed to individual action plans upon completion, the outreach within their communities will impact many more potential trainees. In short, Lissette has left a "teaching tree" model in place that we hope to see expand and carry forth the ESPERE program within the region.
[quote]My expectations were different than the reality in Africa, normally the mass media shows to the world the bad things about Africa, I was expecting some kind of hungry people, in a dusty or dirty environment, waiting for water and food. But, I realized (once there and on the ground) that they have needs, but also they have so many good things that the mass media doesn't talk about: they are a happy and generous people, (there are) amazing buildings for education, they are bilinguals and have spoken their own language and English since they were kids, they have some kind of sense of community that we have lost in our developed societies, and is highly necessary for healing our societies – they are ahead of the game in that sense. I realized we have as many things to learn from them as they can learn from us. I'm not saying everything is perfect, I'm just saying that not everything is bad, and there is great hope for the future because of the people. Moreover, I was expecting a very rough place but it was a beautiful place for the workshop."[/quote]
- Global Associate and program facilitator, Lissette Mateus Roa
Lissette's excerpted comments above are from a conversation with her upon her return from Africa. The full interview can be found here.
In coming months, we look forward to sharing the results of the action plans established by the trainees at Lissette's ESPERE workshop, as they carry out the mission to bring societal changes to their own communities in Northern Africa. If you would like to become more involved supporting this project, find out how you can help.
[slide] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_1.jpg"]Co-founder's Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman meet with Everest Okwonga, the Principal at St. Janani Luwum Vocational Training Centre[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_2.jpg"]Co-founder's Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman meet with students at a trade school for former child combatants in Gulu[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_3.jpg"]Co-founder Diane Goldin meets with students in a Gulu classroom during the Institute's June2014 trip to the region to take part on child soldier reintegration efforts[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_4.jpg"]Participants of a workshop conducted by Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa take part in one of the exercises teaching 'forgiveness'[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_5.jpg"] Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa (bottom left) and her group of ESPERE students. Also included is friend and colleague and Associate emeritus Dr. Dorcas Kiplagat (standing 5th from right)[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_6.jpg"]Participants of the ESPERE workshop during a training session[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_7.jpg"]Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa (standing) leads a training session in Gulu[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_9.jpg"]Global Associate Lissette Mateus conducts an exercise with participants of the ESPERE workshop in June 2014[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_15.jpg"]Global Associate Lissette Mateus (sitting foreground) leads her ESPERE training group[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_28.jpg"]Co-founder Diane Goldin meets with students at the St Janani Vocational School. The School is made up of mostly former child soldiers learning new skills (like carpentry in this classroom) to rejoin civilian life.[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_27.jpg"]The workshop attended by former child combatants[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_34.jpg"]Institute co-founder Diane Goldin meets with Ajok Dorah - a psychologist specializing in giving counsel to former child combatants returning to their communities.[/img][/slide]
June 2014 Newsletter
Goldin Institute Update and Newsletter
As we celebrate the welcome news that our partners at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti are bringing at least a dozen sexual violence cases to trial to hold perpetrators accountable, we ask for your help in raising awareness about the danger our Global Associate Malya Villard-Appolon and her partners at KOFAVIV continue to face for their heroic work to represent the victims and accompany them in the quest for justice.
As the co-founders of KOFAVIV and the most visible leaders representing victims of sexual violence, Malya and Marie Eramithe have come under increasing pressure from perpetrators to drop the charges and give up the fight for justice in the courts. Both have been accosted on the streets, bullets have been fired at their homes, the offices have been moved to more secure locations and their children have had to be relocated to escape the danger.
They will not give up the fight. Neither will we.
Our partners at World Wings International have long stood with us on the issue of defending human rights in Haiti - especially those rights directly impacting gender-based violence. As stated by our friend and colleague Alicia Cubota Smith:
[quote]Villard-Appolon, as with the many other women suffering from gender-based violence, needs our help. Public awareness is a crucial first step."[/quote]
- Alicia Cubota Smith
As a survivor of sexual violence herself, Malya's strength and courage to advocate on behalf of victims of violence is as clear as her voice. In 2012 Malya was awarded the CNN Hero of the Year Award
We are proud continue the fight against sexual violence in Haiti led by our Global Associate Malya Villard-Appolon and her colleague Marie Eramithe Delva. Since co-founding KOFAVIV in 2004, the organization has helped more than 4,000 rape survivors find safety, psychological support and/or legal aid. KOFAVIV is founded and staffed by victims of sexual and gender-based violence. You can learn more about KOFAVIV and the current situation by viewing this broadcast of Malya's lecture in Chicago at Loyola University from April 22, 2014.
Next Newsletter Preview:
Philippines: Our projects in the Philippines continue to progress as Global Associate Dr. Susana Anayatin and her team work to provide access to clean water. Watch our next newsletter for new ways to understand and explore the water installation projects made possible through your support.
Uganda: Diane and Travis are traveling to Uganda to participate in a training led by our Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa from Colombia. Lissette will be training our partners in Uganda to use the ESPERE methodology developed in Colombia to engage the local community in using schools as centers for reconciliation for former child soldiers in the region.
If you have suggestions of individuals who may want to receive our e-newsletter or stories you think we should tell, please contact us at news@goldininstitute.org.
Uganda Update
Building on Two Years of Partnership Planning:
An update to the National Platform for child soldier prevention and re-integration in Uganda
This past June, co-founders of the Goldin Institute, Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman spent two weeks in Africa to coordinate and take part in the official launch of the National Platform for Child Soldier Reintegration and Prevention - Uganda Chapter. The event was the culmination of over two years of partnering with the Institute's Global Associate based in Kenya - Dr. Dorcas Kiplagat.
The official report has just been issued (view in entirety here), but we would like to highlight the key findings and developments that came out of the event.
Background on the Issue
The conflict in Northern Uganda, which claimed thousands of lives and displaced over 400,000 people over the past thirty years, has recently entered a period of relative calm. Since 2006, the Lord's Resistance Army and the Allied Democratic Forces have been largely dismantled and have moved outside the borders of Uganda. With the displaced - especially young people who had been recruited into the armed militia groups - moving back to their homes and villages, there is a great need to rebuild democratic governance structures and the livelihoods of returnees in ways that map to and reconstruct local realities.
In Uganda, both the rebels and the government have used children in their war actions before and after 1986. There are a number of statutory instruments that outlaw the use of children in combat action or under age employment such as the Constitution, the children's statute in addition to the various international conventions on children. However, these legal instruments were not enough to prevent the use of child soldiers or to ensure that children are reintegrated. Through research and shared planning, the National Platform findings have identified areas where a broad range of civic and grassroots leaders can make a concrete improvement.
History of the project to date
The Uganda Platform is based on the Goldin Institute's successful launch of a similar National Level program in Colombia in 2007. Like the proven Colombian model, a key feature of the this platform has been unifying reintegration efforts (in this case amongst Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC) to directly serve former combatants, not only reintegrating those children who have escaped fighting, but also to seek an end to the use of child soldiers.
Building on what was learned in Colombia and other Institute initiatives, central to the Uganda National Platform was involving former child combatants directly by providing them a voice in the proceedings. Specifically, 12 former child soldiers lead the oral testimony gathering. This experiential approach broke down many of the hierarchical barriers and produced a more accurate understanding of the lived experiences and aspirations of former combatants.
Goals and objectives of the Platform
The overall goals of the National Platform are to: 1) reintegrate former child soldiers in Uganda and 2) prevent the use of children in armed conflict. The platform will document its processes, successes and challenges in order to assist partners in DRC, Somalia and South Sudan as they build similar National Level Platforms that together will partner in a regional network dedicated to reintegration and prevention.
Eleven specific goals were established and approved by the 100 stakeholders from across Uganda with observers from the DRC, South Sudan, Kenya and the United States:
- Direct and sustained engagement of former child soldiers in all aspects of the network, from setting priorities, service in related projects and evaluation.
- Research and documentation of child soldier related issues.
- Advocacy for public policies that will benefit former combatants.
- Strengthening of institutional mechanisms to promote access to education, healthcare, nutrition, shelter and employment for ex-child soldiers and children impacted by the violence.
- Build Capacity for member organizations of the national platform to address issues of child soldiers.
- Coordinate the disparate programs for demobilization, prevention and reintegration of child soldiers to improve efficiency and reach.
- Monitor with relevant government ministries and departments to keep watch over the implementation of policies that impact ex-child soldiers.
- Evaluate impact of resources and programs targeting ex-child soldiers in Uganda.
- Distribute information and reports from members of the national platform.
- Assist in sharing information, tools and insights in building the regional platform.
- Mobilize resources for the running of the platform activities.
[slide] [img path="images/at_the_banner_diane_and_TR.jpg"]Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman meet with members of the former child soldier delegation[/img] [img path="images/TR_and_two_delegates.jpg"]Executive Director Travis Rejman meets with delegates to the National Platform[/img] [img path="images/diane_and_dorcas_and_uniden.jpg"]Dr. Dorcas Kiplagat (center) and Diane Goldin with Platform delegate[/slide]
Huffington Post Features: Kony 2012?
Goldin Institute Article Featured In Huffington Post
Can the #Kony2012 campaign grow to #rebuilduganda2012?
With over 30 million views this week, the super viral Kony 2012 video is clearly raising awareness of the horrors of the LRA in Uganda. But is the Kony 2012 campaign a good idea?
The Goldin Institute is pleased to share this article published in the Huffington Post on March 9, 2012 summarizing our response to the Kony 2012 video and campaign.
Whatever happens with Kony and the Kony 2012 campaign, the Goldin Institute will continue our work towards community-driven child soldier reintegration and prevention strategies in Uganda and impacted countries around the world. Far from being invisible, former Child Soldiers are directly engaged in our ongoing work to build a National Partnership for Child Soldier Reintegration and Prevention in Uganda.