[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 681

[Garry & Anne Krischock]

 1. 1326: Fanning the winds of peace in Iraq From: Sunil K Zachariah 
Message 
  1. 1326: Fanning the winds of peace in Iraq 
Posted by: "Sunil K Zachariah" sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk   sunilkzach 
Sat Jul 7, 2007 5:43 pm (PST) 
Fanning the winds of peace in Iraq

As a country representative for Peace Winds Japan, Miho Kishitani 
could have chosen to work in a number of struggling
regions of the world.

"I chose Iraq," says Kishitani, a former Rotary World Peace 
Fellow. "I wanted to gain field experience so I could understand the 
domestic nature of conflict. I chose the most challenging area, which 
was northern Iraq."

Kishitani manages and coordinates reconstruction programs in Iraq 
focusing on education, social care, and health, water, and 
sanitation. From her base in Amman, Jordan, she runs two offices with 
a local staff of 80 and a budget of US$4 million.

This wasn't Kishitani's first time in the war-torn country. From 2000 
to 2003, she spent three years as the sole full-time Japanese worker 
in the Kurdish autonomous zone in northern Iraq. She coordinated and 
implemented relief efforts there as head of the Northern Iraq Mission 
for Peace Winds Japan.

Last year, the Institute for International Policy Studies presented 
Kishitani with the Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro Award of 
Excellence. The award honors significant achievements in political, 
economic, cultural, and scientific and technological fields.

It also seeks to promote peace and prosperity in areas of conflict.

The award was named after the former prime minister of Japan and the 
institute's current chair, who presented the honor, along with a 
prize of ¥1 million (US$8,500), during a ceremony held in June. By 
recognizing Kishitani, who was only 25 years old when she first went 
to Iraq, the institute hopes to inspire other young workers in 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to pursue humanitarian efforts 
in the field.

"It's easy to talk about peace in New York or Tokyo, where there is 
no conflict," says Kishitani. But she believes that to achieve peace, 
NGO workers and world leaders must spend time "where people struggle 
to survive because of a lack of peace."

After her experience in the Kurdish autonomous zone, Kishitani knew 
she wanted to be a professional aid worker. For that, she needed a 
master's degree. In 2005, as a Rotary World Peace Fellow, she 
received a master's in conflict resolution from the University of 
Bradford in England. Her fellowship was sponsored by the Rotary Club 
of Urawa, Saitama, Japan.

"I faced limitations in the field due to a lack of knowledge and 
methods," says Kishitani of her first time in Iraq. "My experience 
[at the university] is helping me in
program planning, negotiation, and coordination with other agencies.

"Iraq's problems are very much driven by geopolitical, religious, and 
ethnic interests," she says. "My knowledge of conflict resolution is 
helping me to read this political
map to ensure the greatest efficiency in my program."

A strong believer in the power of education, Kishitani plans to 
continue her own. With her award money, she hopes to improve her 
research and language skills to
better serve Iraq's people. But getting mobile is her first goal. "I 
want to first get a driving license. Then, secondly, I want to learn 
Arabic."

Source: May 2007 issue of Reconnections
Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary
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