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Jacques Bahati comes to AFJN from Chicago, but he was born in Goma, which is in the South Kivu Region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the years 1996-2000 he was a living witness of the invasion of the DRC and worked in post-war relief. He holds both a Masters of Divinity (2006) and Masters of Arts in Ethics (2007) from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He is particularly interested in conflict resolution and HIV/AIDS education.
Rehana Merchant, who hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has just concluded her sophomore year at Trinity University. Her area of concentration is Mathematics, and she has most recently become interested in African affairs after attending a Trinity sponsored program this past fall with guest speaker Father Rocco on "Conflict Diamonds" in Sierra Leone. Her newfou nd interests are the genocide in Sudan and the major conflict behind child soldiers in Africa. At AFJN, Rehana plans to gain a more in depth understanding of the genocide in Sudan and will further explore the ways in which child soldiers can be rehabilitated.
 Sara Snider is a small-town girl making her way in DC for the summer. Sara leaves the peaceful St. Lawrence River in northern New York State each August to study Economic Policy and International Peace at the University of Notre Dame. When she's not studying or working on economic justice topics, she participates in the ND Liturgical Choir and ushers at the Debartolo Performing Arts Center to get her kick of performing arts. This coming fall she will be a senior with a lot on her plate, including the responsibilities of co-president of ND's AFJN chapter, the co-director of the first annual student Conference of Human Development, as well as simply being an avid member of the Economic Justice (Fair Trade) subgroup of Amnesty International ND. For the fall semester of 2006, Sara studied Development abroad in Uganda with the School for International Training, learning first hand both the positive and negative impacts of development on the people. Her experience there motivated her desire to see "the other side" of development—the policy and advocacy side in DC.
 Anne Vickers, originally from Franklin, TX, is a senior Nonprofit Management major at Furman University in Greenville, SC. She is participating in George Mason University’s Summer Institute on International Development, and her internship with AFJN is a part of the program. She has a strong interest in international development and the work of NGOs, and she is looking forward to the hands-on experience she will receive while working with AFJN. Anne will be spending her time primarily researching the issues of water campaigns in Africa such as water quality, conservation, and access. She will also be conducting secondary research on refugees and IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and working with the AFJN staff to prepare the 25th Anniversary Celebration booklet.
 Jeff Weaver just finished his freshman year at Swarthmore College, where he plans to major in economics. A lifelong resident of the Washington, DC area, he loves humidity, the Metro, and Code Red days. Jeff first became interested in Africa his senior year of high school, when studying barriers to development in Nigeria and Algeria, and has since devoted much of his studies to similar topic. He has a special interest in disarmament and demobilization processes, economic development, and the Horn of Africa. At AFJN, Jeff will primarily focus on the conflict in Somalia and issues surrounding US domestic farm subsidies and trade.
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