This past year was unique and special in many ways. Your support over the years made it possible for AFJN to reach a landmark – 35 years of advocacy and education for transformation. The 35th anniversary celebration provided an opportunity to showcase AFJN’s accomplishments in the US and Africa, and the coalition it has built over the years. We are most grateful. PDF file 2018 End Year Report
We continue to tailor our engagement strategies to the changing contexts in the United States and in Africa. Our education programs and outreach including appearances in the media, and collaboration with our coalition partners in the US and Africa continue to grow strong. Our internship program enables many young Americans from diverse backgrounds to learn firsthand the engagements of AFJN with the US Congress and with our coalition partners in Africa. We continue to see expression of surprise, then transformation of our young interns as they learn the truth about US-Africa policy, governance issues in Africa, corporate intrusions into African local communities, and ways these corporations impact the lives of Africans, mostly negatively. The reality they come to understand, different from media sound-bites gives them a different perspective about Africa; prompting some to become advocates for Africa.
Our engagements of stakeholders in Africa on just governance continue to produce practical results. We are particularly delighted at the new found energy of women religious—Catholic nuns in Africa. They have courageously tackled the structures of injustice that deprive Africans of their dignity as God’s children. Catholic sisters in Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Tanzania took bold steps to tackle a number of social ills, including human trafficking, violence against women and children, wonton destruction of human life, and land grabbing and dislocation of families by agribusiness corporations. The approach has been practical hands on. They have directly engaged law makers, traditional rulers, faith leaders, government officials and members of the judiciary.
We continue to highlight the implications of corporate large-scale land acquisition, toxic dumping on African soil by foreign companies, the implication of youth migration, the challenge Genetically Modified Seeds pose to food sovereignty, water sources, and biodiversity. Our firsthand experience and insights gained from African communities enrich our advocacy in the US in unique ways, and contribute to AFJN’s visibility; resulting in speaker invitations and consultations.
Thank you for your commitment to support our sisters and brothers in Africa as they struggle to promote just governance and create a better society where their dignity as God’s children is enhanced. What follows are just highlights of the many activities we have undertaken during the year. Details of some of these activities are on our website.
With your continued support, we look forward with confidence to a great year of engagements and achievements, in partneship with our sisters and brothers in Africa.
Thank you.
Aniedi Okure, OP, Executive Director
