Presbyterian International Peacemaker - Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo

The Pine Island Church has been accepted to host International Peacemaker Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo from Cameroon September 13-18, 2019 through the Peacemaking Program of the Presbyterian Church (USA). 

Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo serves as the Coordinator of RELUFA, the Network for the Fight Against Hunger, a Joining Hands partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program in Cameroon. Jaff coordinates the advocacy campaigns on land and food justice and transparency in the extractive industries. Jaff started working with RELUFA in 2009 as program assistant and in 2011 was promoted as the Coordinator of the network. He will be speaking about the work of RELUFA to address the root causes of poverty and hunger, the recruitment of young people by the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Cameroon and the ongoing conflict in the Anglophone part of Cameroon, a conflict that has also affected neighboring countries like Nigeria. These conflicts have caused internal displacement and pose a great challenge to peace and security in the country. Jaff writes,“Christians have fled into the bush and to neighboring states, and churches are now empty.”  He holds a Masters degree in Development Studies from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, the Netherlands where he majored in the Politics of Alternative Development, and a Bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of Yaounde II in Cameroon.

His visit will depend on his receiving a U.S. Visa, which he has applied for and is waiting to receive. A schedule of his engagements while in Kalamazoo is being developed.  The following is a tentative schedule:
      Friday, September 13    Travel Day/Arrives - AZO Airport
      Saturday, September 14   Presbytery Meeting at Fairplain Presbyterian Church, Benton Harbor
      Sunday, September 15  Morning - Worship at Pine Island Church
                                            Afternoon - Lunch & Visit with Cameroon Families of Pine Island Church
                                            Evening -  Joint Youth Group
      Monday, September 16 Morning - Free/Rest
                                            Afternoon, Possible Engagement at WMU or local High School
                                            Evening - Pine Island Session Meeting
      Tuesday, September 17 Morning - Visit with Local Clergy
                                            Afternoon - Tour Tiller's International, ISAAC Headquarters
                                            Evening -  Free/Rest
      Wednesday, September 18 Travel Day - Departs from AZO Airport

Learn more about the Presbyterian International Peace Program at this link:  https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/peacemaking/international-peacemakers/

Contact me, John Best, with further ideas for his itinerary schedule and or with your interest in hosting him for a few nights, or for meal(s).

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