SATURDAY OCTOBER 19th! 9:30-11:30 AM in the Montclair Presbyterian Church “Family Room”.
Our Presbyterian International Peacemakers, Wilhelm IIturralde and Chenoa Stock from Bolivia and Ana Maria Mondragon, an attorney for Earth Justice in Colombia will be our guest speakers on these global issues. Come hear the latest update from them, see the award winning international photo exhibit on Poverty and Pollution, and participate in the discussion.
Refreshments will be served. No charge. All invited. Donations Accepted. Featured Speaker: Ana María Mondragón
Montclair Presbyterian Church 5701 Thornhill Dr. Oakland 94611 (510) 339-1131
Ana María Mondragón is a fellow of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense Human Rights and Environment Program. A Colombian, she works with AIDA from the San Francisco office. She received a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, where she was part of the research group on social justice, business and human rights. She has worked as a visiting professional at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and as a legal consultant at the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL).
Wilhelm Ituralde has been involved in development work since graduating from Tomás Frias University in civil engineering. In 1986, he founded the Center for Regional Development, a non-governmental organization (NGO), committed to improvements that would benefit the community and mining families. He has worked in Central and South America, during movements such, as May Grandmothers, The Sandinistas, and Sub-Commander Frames. Serving his second term as president of the Bolivian Joining Hands Network, UMAVIDA (Uniendo Manos por La Vida – Joining Hands for Life), a group of nine community organizations and church groups, advocating on issues of mining, water rights and environmental justice, Wilhelm is a Bolivian of Italian decent, born in the mining capital and the world’s highest city, Potosi, Bolivia, where he lives today with his wife and has two daughters.
Chenoa served as a PCUSA Young Adult Volunteer in Kerala, India, where she was confronted by the growing presence of globalization and the need for systemic changes towards sustainability. She went onto be the Joining Hands Companionship Facilitator (part of the Presbyterian Hunger Program) in Sri Lanka with the Praja Abhilasha (People’s Aspirations) Network (2006-2010), focusing on land rights for those displaced by the 2004 tsunami, other natural disasters, tourism, and government land grabs. It was this enriching experience of working in the Joining Hands context of mission as partnership and transformation that moved Chenoa to take the call as the Companionship Facilitator in Bolivia with UMAVIDA. She has recently renewed her contract for another three-year term and is excited to share her journey with you. Born in Pittsburgh, PA and daughter of two retired Presbyterian co-pastors, Chenoa is a graduate of Wittenberg University.