Dr. Christopher Zambakari is a South Sudanese-American, who immigrated to the United States in 2001 as a refugee from South Sudan. Christopher has built a strong foundation as a visionary leader, scholar, international consultant, and speaker. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Zambakari Advisory and Co-owner with his mother of two Assisted Living Care Facilities in Phoenix. In 2013 he was sponsored by The Sun City West Rotary Club and awarded the Rotary Peace Fellowship to study peace and conflict resolution at the University of Queensland in Australia. For his Applied Field Experience, he worked on peace and mediation support in the Middle East and North Africa with The Berghof Foundation in Germany.
After the peace fellowship, Christopher founded The Zambakari Advisory, a strategic advisory firm based in Phoenix focused on evidence-based policies research to assist government agencies, businesses in emerging markets, and law enforcement officials with customized services in conflict, security, and risk assessments, and strategies for working closely with local communities to reduce threats and improve social interactions. He has given talks on critical topics of law, politics, and development at many universities including, The University of Antwerp, John Hopkins University, The University of Queensland, Arizona State University, and The University of Washington.
Christopher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, MBA in International Finance, a master’s degree in international studies with a specialization in Conflict Resolution, and a Doctorate in Law and Policy (LP.D.). Currently he is the Founder and CEO of The Zambakari Advisory, Professor at Cambridge Graduate University International, Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Nile Institute for Peace and Development (NIPD), Rotary Peace and Paul Harris Fellow, and the Associate Editor of The Sudans Studies Association Bulletin
In his talk, Dr. Zambakari will speak on the subject: The Cost of Violence and Business of Peace. He will share his research on violence and the necessity for investing in the infrastructures of peace. He will also present an overview of The Rotary Peace Program and simple ways to build peace by engaging private sector actors.
On August 8, Sunrise was treated to a program honoring our SRKSEP students’ 2019 visit to Japan. Shauna Lorenzen and Steve Amend provided introductory comments about the program, including Sunrise’s creation of the program, our long history supporting it, and the Sunrisers who have spent so much of their time and efforts on the program. Our 2019 program featured chaperone Janis Couvreux and student participants John and Logan Leddy, Rob Giacomini, and Ari Vozaitis. All were in attendance and spoke at our Thursday program.
The group departed from SFO on July 9 and arrived in Tokyo, where they connected with their guide, Yumi, the universally recognized “World’s Best Guide”. They traveled to Kyoto on the 16th and then to Hiroshima on the 18th. They were greeted by members of the Hiroshima Rotary Club, participated in a peace study, toured museums, and learned the difference between a “shrine” and a “temple”. Their journey then took them to Kagoshima, where they stayed for several days, living with host families and visiting government offices, attended Rotary meetings with our sister club in Kagoshima, and participated in activities at Professor Mori’s university and the IBS Institute. They practiced their calligraphy, archery, Rotarian meeting skills, and chopstick domination. It turns out that Logan Leddy is the chopstick champ! Maybe he can give us a lesson sometime?
The students themselves did most of the presenting at the meeting, showing us their photos, talking about the people they met and the things they learned, and teasing each other a bit. We learned that Ari is the Renaissance man, John Leddy is the baby whisperer, and Rob is the congenial social media editing expert/geek. They did a great job; I’m sure that the program helped them develop presentation skills because they seemed very calm, relaxed, informative and generally adept at public speaking – a skill that will serve them well!
This is a fantastic program and we should all be very proud of our members who keep it alive and all the 2019 participants. Their parents (and grandmothers!) can be especially proud of these talented, dedicated and enthusiastic young men – and they can be proud of themselves!! On to next year when we receive students from Japan!
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Sunrise was inspired again by the vision and commitment of New Generation Builders.
Rima Makaryan, senior at Montgomery High School developed a project in Vietnam to restore war ravaged farmlands.
Josè Guillen, and Doug Johnson below, are pioneers in bringing New Gen Peacebuilders to Santa Rosa.
Perhaps Peace is possible!
Recent returnees from Sunrise SRKSEP exchange program with Japan, Ari and John ponder their experience and new perspective.
Below, Roy Johnston and Ari absorb.
What is one of the desired outcomes? To bring people together and creatively solve problems, resolve conflicts. For Rima that meant gathering resources to sponsor clearing the bombed and mined farming fields in Vietnam's heavily hit areas in order to restore the land's role in sustaining food production. People needed to be convinced of the need and financially support the dangerous process.
Rima has a remarkable gift for generating interest and dialogue. As a child, she was curious and eager to learn of her Armenian Homeland's ethnic genocide history. Somewhat shy asa a younger teen, her New Gen experience and opportunity has helped Rima hone her communication skills.
So convincingly persuasive was Rima's presentation that Ken Petro, upon drawing the winning marble, was drawn to donate his winnings to New Gen!
Rima and Ari got each other's attention. Both students at Montgomery High School, they will continue to help us all enter the future with fresh vision and hope!
Nestled in the hills of Guatemala City, Colonia Trinidad is a neighborhood at odds with itself. “It’s a well-off area with huge apartments and lots of construction,” says Mónica Davila. “But we also have areas that are home to a lot of poor people.”
Davila is president of the Rotary Club of Guatemala Vista Hermosa Uwara, a satellite of the Rotary Club of Guatemala Vista Hermosa. While volunteering at a shelter for orphans, members of the Vista Hermosa Uwara club learned about Escuela Republica de Alemania, a school in Colonia Trinidad attended by 150 children between ages seven and 13. Some of the students live at the shelter, including some who lost family members when the Fuego volcano erupted in 2018 and killed at least 190 people. All of the school’s students live in poverty.
The school building was in bad shape, with rotting wood and problems with the roof, and had few of the resources needed for education. “Most of our club members live close to that school,” Davila says, and after seeing the conditions under which kids in their neighborhood were trying to learn, the members of the Uwara club knew what had to be done.
“We are trying to make a model school at Republica de Alemania,” she says.
In a three-month fundraising drive, the Uwara club members raised $1,000 and got additional support from District 4250 (Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras). In May 2018, they installed 100 new desks in classrooms. In February 2019, they set up a computer lab using donated equipment from a local call center.
“We are trying to make a model school at Republica de Alemania.”
The Uwara club has more plans for the school, including replacing the remaining classroom desks, fixing the roof, and stocking a library.
The work of the Uwara volunteers has inspired parents at the school to pool their own funds to help pay for some renovations.
María Valladares, a new member of the Uwara club, says her experiences at Republica de Alemania have confirmed to her how important becoming a Rotarian was. “I joined this club because the members are dedicated to education and helping children,” she says.
The Uwara volunteers see what a difference they’re making whenever they come back to the school. In February 2019, when they arrived to build the computer lab, the students were excited to show off how well they had taken care of their desks. “They said, ‘Can you come and see our desks? We have papers in them!’” Davila says.
— FRITZ LENNEMAN
• This story originally appeared in the August 2019 issue of The Rotarian magazine.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
.png)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
