Here and There
By Roberto Lopez

From Left; Roberto Lopez, Jason Ladnier, Judy Asuni,
Patricia Taft and Derin Asuni

Fund for Peace
In November 2003, Jason Ladnier and Patricia Taft of Fund for Peace (FfP) in Washington, DC, visited Nigeria and our offices in Abuja and Lagos to conduct field research for their project, “Regional Responses to Internal War.” They are shown here with Judy, Derin and Roberto during their visit to Abuja.

USIP
Taylor Seybolt, Program Officer for the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), visited our Abuja office in September 2003 to meet with members of civil society working in conflict management. Mr. Seybolt visited both Nigeria and Ghana in order to learn about the pressing needs of local peacemakers and researchers and also to discuss how to prepare grant applications to USIP. Bassey Okon of PeaceWorks Productions also coordinated Seybolt’s meetings in Lagos and Ibadan.

Transitions

We Welcome:

Derin Asuni and Roberto Lopez pose for a picture with Governor Adamu of Nasarawa State

Derin Asuni and Roberto Lopez, who joined the AAPW staff on October 1, 2003. Derin and Roberto worked together at Score! , an educational company in Washington, D.C. Now they are working with us in Karu and Warri- a slight change from D.C.!

We Mourn:

Mr. Blessing Abam, a consultant at the AAPW office in Port Harcourt. Mr. Abam first came into the AAPW sphere in 2001, when he and Elder Gomba Osarollor became co-chairmen of the Eleme/Okrika Joint Peace Committee. Mr. Abam subsequently worked with us on the Soku/Elem Sangama/Oluasiri and Ugborodu conflicts. Being a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abam was a key facilitator in the training of the Nigeria Police on early warning signs of election conflict, held in April 2003. Mr. Abam died suddenly in January 2004.

We also mourn the death of Mrs. Binta Wokocha. Binta worked with us in Karu, especially on the REFLECT Adult Literacy training. Binta died unexpectedly in late 2003, cutting short the life of a beautiful and kind young woman.

We Will Miss:

Zara Goni, who has won a scholarship for a masters degree programme in India. Zara has been a volunteer with AAPW, working on the Advocacy Team in Karu Local Government, as well as on issues of displaced persons in the Federal Capital Territory. We’ll miss Zara’s enthusiasm and energy, but know that she will come back better equipped for her work in sustainable development.

We are also currently missing Rosemarie McBean, who returned to the US in September 2003, after 15 months in Nigeria. However rumours have it that Rose may well return to work on the Search for Common Ground television drama. Last newsletter we reported that Rose loves Nigeria; this rumour confirms it!