It also helped that Gbowee knew 91短视频 well. She had earned a in 2007.

Gbowee, a social worker who led a women’s peace movement that helped end Liberia’s civil war 10 years ago, addressed a fundraising dinner for over 100 people at 91短视频 on Feb. 7. Organized by the school’s International Student Organization, the event was followed by a public address to about 200 attendees, who put contributions into baskets passed by the students.

The events raised over $4,000 after expenses for the care of children whose parents died from Ebola. The funds will go to the Nobel winner’s in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. The foundation makes grants to grassroots groups, including two Liberian organizations founded by graduates of .

The countries hardest hit by Ebola, which started in March 2014, were Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, said Gbowee in her public address. The 3.4 million people of her country had only 51 doctors. “We were not prepared for Ebola, but Liberian civil society rose to the occasion,” she said. “We didn’t wait around for the international community to come and help us.”

Gbowee told the stories of three Liberian heroes – a doctor who cared for Ebola victims in his humble clinic at the risk of his own life, a taxi driver who transported dangerously infectious patients to the hospital, and a young man with a full-time job who provides care for orphans in his off hours.

The epidemic has finally abated in Africa, she said. The Ebola clinics are emptying and students are going back to school. But, she added, the people still live in fear, the economy is ruined and orphans abound.

“We appreciate the help of international organizations,” Gbowee said. “But sometimes they didn’t bother to consult with the local people about how to fight Ebola. They thought they had the expertise, but if you don’t really listen to what the people want, then it’s not much use.”

Gbowee has a reputation for speaking truth to power, most notably when she publicly confronted the president of Liberia during the country’s civil war. Most recently she criticized the United Nations’ humanitarian aid efforts during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

During a question-and-answer session at the conclusion of her speech, Gbowee praised young people for their idealism and gave advice on how to start on the path to activism. “Ideas that are ground-breaking and keep you awake at night might seem like crazy ideas,” she said. “But write them down, tell a friend and step out boldly. Getting angry about an unjust situation is not only okay, she added, but a good thing.

The students who organized the fundraiser represented five continents: Kaltuma Noorow and Nandi Onetu of Kenya, Winifred Gray-Johnson and Gee Paegar of Liberia, Sun Ju Lee of South Korea, Wael Gamtessa of Ethiopia, Brenda Soka of Tanzania, Zoe Parakuo of the United States, Norah Alobikan of Saudi Arabia, Danika Saucedo of Bolivia, Victoria Gunawan of Indonesia, and Marcus Ekman of Sweden. , 91短视频’s director of , is the advisor for the International Student Organization.

Gbowee’s last trip to 91短视频 was in April 2014, when she was the that included her son, Joshua Mensah. Before that she came to campus in . Just prior to her arrival, the was announced, and thus her appearance made for a frenzied weekend.

Editor’s note: Kara Lofton, a 2014 91短视频 grad, reported on Gbowee’s appearance at the Ebola fundraiser for local public radio station WMRA; her four-minute report can be heard.

She never imagined that desire, born from hours of long-distance conversation with her family members and prayer over the sufferings of fellow West Africans, would draw the attention and support of her university community – and a .

“Doing something was a way to help myself with the panic of thinking about my family and what was going on in my country,” said the economics major. “I didn’t want to be silent and just sit on my hands, so I started thinking, ‘What could I do?’”

That question quickly became “What can we do?” when shared with fellow members of 91短视频’s International Students Organization (ISO).

To Gray-Johnson’s surprise and delight, Liberian peace activist and ( ’07) learned of the fledging movement and enthusiastically agreed to headline a fundraising dinner.

at 91短视频’s Martin Chapel, with a seating capacity of 140, are $100, with $80 of that a tax-deductible donation to the Africa. Dinner guests will receive preferred seating at a public lecture later in the evening in Lehman Auditorium.

A freewill offering will be taken at the lecture, with an for those who cannot attend.

To those who need most help

“She is helping us raise awareness, but at the same time, we know that this money will go through her organization to those who most need it, [to] the children who have lost family members or been displaced,” Gray-Johnson said.

Gbowee, who received the 2011 prize for her work in ending Liberia’s civil war, says that her country’s decade-long peace is threatened by Ebola.

“We must face another enemy from within,” she wrote in an in Britain. “…Ebola is resurrecting old traumas from those who survived the war.”

Since the Ebola outbreak began, Gbowee’s Monrovia-based non-profit has contributed to community-based, . Donations from the 91短视频 fundraiser will be shared by the foundation with two Liberian organizations founded by alumnae of : GSA Rock Hill Community Women in Monrovia, founded by Vaiba Flomo (CJP Grad. Cert. ’13), and Messengers of Peace, a youth outreach group founded by Gwendolyn Myers (CJP Grad. Cert. ’14).

Gbowee’s visit kicks off a series of events planned by the in March, including a color run, chapel talk, and movie showing.

Kaltuma Noorow, ISO co-president, said students have rallied to the cause, inspired first by Gray-Johnson’s willingness to share how she and her family were personally affected by the outbreak.

Wilfred Gray-Johnson, Winifred’s father, is executive director of the . During the outbreak, he and his team travelled frequently to rural areas “to work on an early warning and response mechanism to ensure that Ebola did not lead to a national conflict,” Gray-Johnson said. “While in the field, he could see firsthand what was happening.”

At later ISO planning meetings, student organizers discussed “the stigma of disease and who was getting aid and who wasn’t, which led to conversations about who needed help who wasn’t getting it. We’ve all seen that in our own countries,” said Noorow, a junior peacebuilding and development major from Kenya.

Learning from action-taking

In a year of new leadership and transition for the organization, Noorow credits ISO members for pulling together and taking on “huge responsibilities” to work on this fundraiser and the upcoming events in March, she said, adding that she’s reluctant for any one member of the group to be singled out for attention. “We’ve all learned a great deal from the process. It’s important that every member be recognized for their thoughts and all the time spent deliberating and processing.”

Her own involvement with the project has been empowering, Noorow added. “In class, we learn a lot of theory and just reading about it is great, but I’m interested in change. I’m a doer. This event shows that we students can actually do something given the platform. We never imagined it to reach this magnitude. It’s been a lot of work and a lot of time, but we’re all really excited.”

From following appropriate fundraising protocols to parsing out the correct wording for public relations releases and invitations, Gray-Johnson says the hands-on experience has taught her about the complex realities of fundraising for international causes.

“I’ve learned a lot about professionalism and credibility, about raising money for a cause,” she said. “It is important to me that the money raised here go through the right channels… [It helps that] Leymah’s giving us her credibility and that of her foundation.”

Noorow and Gray-Johnson both met Gbowee briefly when she came to campus in spring 2014 to deliver the commencement speech and celebrate the graduation of her son, Joshua Mensah, a major. They are looking forward to learning more about Gbowee’s peacebuilding experiences from the woman herself.

Gray-Johnson hopes to share the experience with her 14-year-old sister, Addy, who moved from Liberia this summer to Maryland, where she’s living with an aunt.

Then, again, this is a Christian university that says it is “like no other.”

The week was intended to encourage both interfaith dialogue and intercultural awareness, said , 91短视频’s director of and .

Events included a lecture on Muslim prayer practices, a 叠补丑á’í devotional, worship services conducted in the Orthodox, Mennonite, and Methodist traditions, a lecture on Jewish faith practices on death and dying, an interactive faith talkback, and an international food festival.

The week opened Friday, Sept. 12, with the Islam-themed talk, sponsored by . “Religions are the most important part of our cultures,” said , at the beginning of his hour-long lecture about the history of Islam, basic Islamic beliefs, and what the ritual Islamic prayer practice (Salat) looks and sounds like.

Lectures, prayers, incense, music

Monday morning, a mostly different group of 91短视频 community members gathered into a tight circle in the 91短视频 Discipleship Center. The facilitator, senior Julie Huffer, welcomed the group and briefly explained how the 叠补丑á’í devotional would run. Several participants were given yellow strips of paper containing portions of a single scriptural passage. Like Akrami, Huffer took time to explain the basic history and beliefs of 叠补丑á’ís before moving into the main part of her program, which included hearing the words on the yellow strips, experiencing silence and prayer, and listening to music from a 叠补丑á’í artist, before breaking for refreshments.

Rabbi Joe Blair’s explanation of Jewish practices on death and dying was both interesting and educational on Monday afternoon. “I learned that the Jewish tradition has a specific process of honoring the souls that have passed and honoring the family that has lost them,” said Huffer. “It was interesting because I didn’t know that in Judaism they have such a specific process.”

Held in Martin Chapel, both the Mennonite and Methodist worship services – Tuesday and Thursday, respectively – were sponsored by the , which is accredited by both denominations. They both included hymns, a short message on church history, and what a typical service looks like.

The thurible emitted a faint waft of incense as the priest swung it back and forth in front of the makeshift altar he was blessing in Lehman Auditorium on Wednesday. Although he later explained that his church, , was affiliated with a “simple” branch of Orthodox Christianity, the beautiful icons, heavy, ornately embroidered priest-robes, and formal blessing ceremony seemed mysterious and involved to eyes used to “plain” Mennonite worship practices.

Eye-opening for students

“It was eye-opening and refreshing to participate and experience another faith tradition,” said senior Philip Yoder, raised Mennonite. “I never realized they codified their faith tradition in the 10th century, and they have been worshiping the same way ever since. Even though the practices were old, they infused the service with heartfelt prayers for the students and professors at 91短视频, and that was pretty cool.”

On Thursday evening, around 50 people gathered in to view the Faces of 91短视频 Exhibit and participate in an “interactive faith talk-back.” The evening included playing get-acquainted games, circulating through the exhibit, chatting, writing impressions on a large sheet of newsprint, and watching a short movie about the two largest minority groups on campus, Hindus and Muslims (from the series on the YouTube channel SoulPancake).

Senior Jordan Luther said “it was neat” to move beyond the Christian majority on campus and have his eyes opened to the religious minorities in the 91短视频 community.

Popular food festival

By far, the most-attended event of the week was Friday’s International Food Fest and Games. This is perhaps to be expected since the time of the event did not conflict with classes or most work-study schedules, and the email reminder sent out by Lepley encouraged people to “bring your taste buds” to partake of enticingly described international foods.

Over 30 vendors prepared food that represented cultures in Saudi Arabia, Korea, Nepal, Kenya and Italy, among others. Students, faculty, staff and other community members intermingled together over what could be described as “a diverse fellowship of believers” or “interfaith communion.” With the Food Fest, the organizers of International Education Week showcased the different faith traditions present at 91短视频 in a common space where everyone could laugh, break bread and celebrate their diversity.

The week was organized in conjunction with 91短视频’s International Student Organization, led by junior??of Somali origin and senior Sun Ju Lee of South Korea; the , led by Carmen Witmer; the , represented by ; Cross Cultural Programs, represented by , and , led by

In a conversation-style talk at tables set for an intimate lunch, Mohamud told 91短视频 leaders: “I’d like to officially request your help for Somalia with the tools and techniques you have here, which are very life-saving tools – not [only] life-saving at the individual level, but life-saving at a nation level.”

He commended CJP’s , which has 16 Somali-speaking women as graduates or current students: “You educate a woman, you educate a family. You educate a family, you educate a whole nation.”

He added that another important group to nurture as peacebuilders is the youth of his country, who constitute the largest segment of its population and who have spent much of their lives experiencing violence and displacement. “All of their lives [have been] unstable for a long time. They keep running, one place after another.”

The young of Somalia need trauma healing, education, and work opportunities in order not to be vulnerable to recruiting by terrorist organizations, he said.

CJP program director concurred with Mohamud’s observation, saying: “We don’t want to create a society where young men are drawn into violence because they have no prospects for a positive life, while young women are taught to be peacemakers.”

91短视频’s commitment to Somali region

Docherty touched on 91短视频’s “long commitment to the Somali region.” She spoke of celebrating the graduation of CJP’s first cohort of Somali women in the peacebuilding leadership program in December 2013. There she felt “great hope,” but also heard the women express “the need to connect large-scale work on trauma healing with any initiatives to rebuild the country.”

Mohamud arrived in Harrisonburg in a mid-sized black car sandwiched between two other black vehicles, with accompanying members of the U.S. Secret Service.

“We are always honored when our former students return to campus, [but] to my knowledge, you are the first alumnus to return with a motorcade,” said CJP executive director in his welcoming remarks, evoking a warm smile from the Somali president.

How this president came to know 91短视频

CJP’s direct connections to Somalia include alumna Khadija Ossoble Ali, who earned her in 2001. Ali then became a member of Somalia’s parliament and served in the prime minister’s cabinet. She left Somalia in the mid-2000s due to political changes and began pursuing a PhD at in Virginia. With her doctorate just completed, she recently met with Mohamud in Somalia where they spoke of new responsibilities for her. (The president conveyed her personal greetings to 91短视频.)

After Ali began studying at CJP in the late 1990s, she recommended 91短视频’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) to Mohamud, who was then an educational leader in Somalia. (He is the founder of what has evolved into in Mogadishu, with 5,000 students.) Mohamud took three of SPI’s intensive courses in 2001, focusing on mediation, trauma healing, and how to design learner-centered trainings.

“My brothers and sisters,” he said, recalling his time at SPI, “this is another great day in coming back here after more than 10 years away.” Since Mohamud’s time at SPI, more than a dozen Somali men and women have attended SPI, plus many others who have Somali roots but enroll in SPI from Kenyan, U.S., or other addresses (SPI does not track its participants by ethnicity).

“After I left here,” Mohamud recounted, “I extensively traveled in Somalia, mediating [between] different communities and clans [which] were having conflicts for different reasons.”

Understandings, patience, helped by SPI teachings

“The tools and the instruments that I took from here helped me a lot in sitting with the people, having the patience and the endurance to listen to sometimes irrational arguments,” he said.

Fortunately, Mohamud said, his SPI training helped him to realize that the people speaking irrationally and often choosing destructive paths were burdened by psychosocial traumatic baggage as a result of their constant exposure to violent conflict.

Unfortunately, he added, Somalia remains a tinderbox. A destructive act by even one person can undermine years of efforts at peacebuilding and reconciliation and spark widespread attacks of one group against another.

Threatened by terrorists

In this environment – with Somalia’s still-weak, distrusted governmental bodies – the terrorist group Al-Shabaab has played a viciously destabilizing role in Somalia and indeed the entire region, Mohamud said. Members of this group tried to kill Mohamud in a hotel assault four days after he became president on Sept. 10, 2012, and have launched other attacks on him over the last two years, sometimes killing people around him.

On a positive note, Mohamud said Somalia is a “very, very rich country” in terms of possibilities for its people to thrive once stability is achieved. It has millions of hectares of arable land, two strongly flowing rivers, the longest coastline in Africa, and the most livestock per capita. He pointed out that Somalia is situated at one of the “most strategic locations in the world.”

The meeting was held in an area that could be easily secured by the Secret Service and local police. Twenty-six representatives of 91短视频 joined Mohamud and his accompanying group of eight for remarks and lunch at , a relatively secluded meeting area on the back side of Common Good Marketplace, near the southeast corner of 91短视频’s campus.

Mohamud singled out?, a rising junior at 91短视频, for special attention at the luncheon, giving her a warm hug as he departed. He praised her deceased mother, , a Somali-Muslim renowned for her peace work in East Africa, for insisting that the “cross-cutting subject” of peacebuilding be woven through the required coursework of all students at Simad University.

Fruits of interfaith work

As one of three who spoke on behalf of 91短视频, Byler explicitly referred to the interfaith nature of 91短视频’s work with Somali-speaking people, who are largely Muslim.

Byler quoted two passages from the Holy Quran that “whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the lives of all humankind.” And: “Have you seen him who denies the religion? He is the one who harshly rebuffs the orphan and does not urge the feeding of the poor.” Byler offered Psalm 82:3 as having a similar message for Jews and Christians: “Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and destitute.” The Somali president nodded in affirmation as Byler spoke these words.

As a sign of CJP’s commitment to Somalia and the rest of the Horn of Africa, Byler said CJP is establishing its first “practice and learning hub” to “partner with and support our [East African] alumni as they engage in this challenging work” of addressing the deeply rooted, systemic problems that feed the cycles of violence.

91短视频 President presented the president of Somalia with several gifts, including training materials in the Somali language used by 91短视频’s program.

At the end of her first 91短视频 semester, Kaltuma Noorow had a casual conversation with Caleb Hinga, then a sophomore.

She mentioned her mother’s name – Dekha Abdi. Instantly Caleb made the connection,“You’re Dekha’s daughter!”

Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, a Somali-Muslim woman who was internationally recognized for her peace work, had been his mother’s inspiration at 91短视频’s .

Caleb’s mother,?Warigia Hinga, had earned a in the spring of 2011. Kaltuma’s mother was a student at the in 1998 and 2009 and an SPI instructor in 2011. She weeks after returning to Kenya in the summer of 2011.

“I don’t want her dream to die,” says Kaltuma, a rising junior majoring in . Kaltuma is the eldest of Abdi’s four children, aged 11 to 22 when their mother died. When one of her mother’s friends encouraged Kaltuma to consider studying at 91短视频, she stopped at three years of architecture studies at a Kenyan university to start over in Harrisonburg.

Some of her 91短视频 classes are taught by her mother’s former professors. Kaltuma hopes to one day earn a CJP masters degree. And she wants to connect her love of architectural design with her passion for – she’s hoping to take a new course at this year’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute, “.”

Kaltuma lived four years in Birmingham, England, with her family and has traveled to Ethiopia, Uganda, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, plus many western European countries. “Yes, I have wanderlust,” she says. “When I first arrived in Harrisonburg, 91短视频 looked pretty small. I’m a city girl.”

In her first year here, Kaltuma quickly identified a cultural trait of her fellow students – a cool reticence in class discussions. “They chose their words so carefully for fear of being misunderstood. I was the one who freely said what was on my mind, and I had to adjust. I didn’t want to be the annoying person who talks too much in 肠濒补蝉蝉.”

She describes herself as a “visual learner. I’m so bored reading textbooks. I’m asking, ‘How can I practically apply this?’”

One practical skill she would like to see expanded from a two-day workshop at CJP to a semester-long course is instruction in “how to talk to donors, how to write grants for funding.”

The work her mother began, Kaltuma is preparing to continue. She has already gained much practical experience in the field through her mother’s network of friends and associates, working alongside them in Uganda and Southeast Asia.

Fellow Kenyan Caleb describes a similar journey, prompted by his mother to come to 91短视频. “She saw leadership abilities in me, but I wasn’t using them in positive ways,” he admits.

Three years later and a rising senior, computer science major Caleb is glad he followed his mother’s advice. “I was studying mechanical engineering in Kenya. My physics class had 700 students; the teacher was projected on a big screen. Here, classes are small. The teacher knows if you’re slacking. They know your strengths and weaknesses,” says Caleb.

He and Kaltuma lead the International Student Organization; he served as president this school year and she as vice-president, rising to president next school year. In addition, Caleb has served on student government, campus activities council, and as an organizer for a 20-school international student event at James Madison University.

The 7,500 miles separating Caleb from his homeland are quickly leaped each weekend with a 2-hour phone call to his parents. “I’m much closer to my mom now than when I was back home. She challenges me when I jump to conclusions too quickly. She’s a big part of helping me get the most out of 91短视频.”

Caleb has embraced the sport of rugby, big in Kenya and other British Commonwealth nations, competing in a Harrisonburg league with players of all ages and many countries.

Caleb knows he’ll be a different person when he ultimately returns to Kenya in a year or two. “I’ll go back a more outgoing person. I’ve learned how to relate to all kinds of people in a good, respectful way, even those who don’t understand me easily.”

Before he returns, Caleb wants to achieve one more wish of his mother. “She always wanted me to take peacebuilding classes,” he says. “Next spring, I hope to take the 肠濒补蝉蝉.”