Fambul Tok

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Libby Hoffman, President (see bio), Portland, ME, USA
John Caulker, Secretary (see bio), Freetown, Sierra Leone

Bruce Jeffrey, Treasurer, Kansas City, KS, USA

Bruce Jeffrey holds an MA in English from the University of Wisconsin, and a BS in Humanities from the US Air Force Academy.  For the past 20 years, Bruce has focused on executive and organizational development, assisting small and large businesses, non-profits, and the department of the Army in strategic planning, process improvement, succession planning, and knowledge management.  He is the co-author of two books on strategic planning, Prioritize! and On the Same Page.  In addition to his consulting practice, Bruce is currently an adjunct professor at Midamerica Nazarene University in Olathe, KS in the MA program for Organizational Leadership.  He has also taught at the Air Force Academy.

Amy Potter Czajkowski, Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Amy Czajkowski is the Associate Director of the Practice and Training Institute at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, where she directs several programs, including Coming to The Table, a program that works to heal the wounds of slavery in the US and promote racial reconciliation.  Amy an experienced mediator, facilitator and trainer, and she has consulted to the Fambul Tok program since its inception, including designing and running the initial training program for community leaders in Sierra Leone.  She holds a B.A. from Principia College and a master’s degree in conflict transformation from Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Jon Lunn, London, England, UK

Jon has a BA in History from Manchester University and a PhD in African History from Oxford University, both in the United Kingdom. He has worked as a University lecturer, as well as for human rights non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and ARTICLE 19 and for the UK Foreign Office, regularly travelling to Africa — including Sierra Leone — in the course of his duties. He was an early supporter of Forum of Conscience (the human rights NGO John Caulker founded in Sierra Leone), and has served on its board from 2001-2009.  He currently works for the UK House of Commons Research Service.

ADVISORY BOARD

Ishmael Beah, New York, NY

Few stories from Sierra Leone’s terrible Civil War have resonated so deeply or so widely as the personal narrative of Ishmael Beah, celebrated author, activist and former child soldier. Ishmael’s biographical account, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, has moved, educated and engaged his readers with the plight of child soldiers in Sierra Leone and around the world. Ishmael lost his parents and brothers at the outset of the Civil War and was forcibly conscripted at age 13. After two years of fighting, he was rescued the front lines by UNICEF and placed in a rehabilitation program in Freetown. He went on to finish high school and came to the United States to attend Oberlin College in Ohio. While he completed his education he came to his life’s work—speaking for all children affected by war. Ishmael has shared his story on NPR, The Daily Show with John Stewart, and with Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton. He regularly returns to Sierra Leone to address the ongoing difficulties faced by child soldiers repatriating into their communities.

Benedict F. Sannoh, Khartoum, Sudan

A distinguished lawyer, activist and scholar, Benedict believes the work FTI has done in Sierra Leone “represents the single most significant and constructive contribution to national reconciliation and the overall promotion of peace and stability in Sierra Leone by a non-governmental organization.” Mr. Sannoh knows the challenges facing the people of Sierra Leone intimately. During his six years in Sierra Leone as Chief of Human Rights Section, UNIOSIL/UNIPSIL, Mr. Sannoh was charged with consolidating the peace by building national capacity for promoting human rights. From establishing a reparations program for victims of the conflict to organizing Human Rights Committees in each of the country’s 12 districts, Mr. Sannoh worked diligently to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Prior to his work at the United Nations, Mr. Sannoh was a human rights activist with civil society in Liberia, using his practice of the law to sensitize, advocate and litigate on behalf of Liberians. Threatened by the government of Charles Taylor, he fled Liberia in 2002 and was granted political asylum in the United States. He currently serves as Chief Human Rights Officer of the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Elinor Sisulu, Pretoria, Zimbabwe

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, writer and activist Elinor Sisulu’s scholarship and field research on women’s issues and development assistance has been published by numerous NGOs and advocacy groups, including the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress. A passionate storyteller, she has written an award-winning children’s book about the first democratic elections in South Africa entitled The Day Gogo Went to Vote, and her biography on her parents-in-law, Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime secured her the prestigious 2003 Noma Award. Elinor is an advisor and political analyst on Zimbabwe and was instrumental in establishing the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe’s South Africa office.  She lives in Pretoria with her husband Max and three sons, Vuyisile, Duma and Sandile.

Claudia Verónica Ágreda Ajquí, Guatemala

Born and raised in Guatemala, scholar and activist Claudia Verónica Ágreda Ajquí is a program officer for the Central American regional office of DanChurchAid (DCA). She has lectured on human rights, conflict transformation and women’s rights at several prominent human rights and peacebuilding institutes, workshops and universities. Claudia has also worked extensively in the field, documenting Guatemala’s justice system and the lives of children and youth in Guatemala. She worked as a front line counselor for victims of gender violence and is a founding member of the women’s organization Alzando Voces. Claudia is inspired by Fambul Tok’s contribution to human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights and historical memory. “I will obtain more from Fambul Tok than what I could give back to it,” she believes. “But I will give my personal commitment, passion and enthusiasm to this project because I witnessed the war in my country. My commitment is to the Peace, and this experience will allow to me to return all the richness that I have received during my walking on the Human Rights road.”