In politically embattled, often violent regions of India, Varghese Chakkummootil used to facilitate highly successful peacebuilding workshops. More than 70 percent of the 3,200 people who attended decided that, rather than take up arms, they would join the movement for peace.
Varghese, however, felt he could do more for his home country. “The violence I saw led me to critically analyze politics and conflict,” he says. “When I found World Learning’s SIT graduate program in social justice, I realized I wanted to learn more about justice and then go back in the field.”
Varghese began his studies in the fall of 2007 and feels like he’s in the right place. “In every class, I examine my work and begin to understand what I have done and what I could have done better,” he says. “With fellow students from places like Kenya, Israel, and the Philippines, I’m able to blend theory with real-life experiences and strengthen my belief that peace is possible.”
After two semesters on campus, Varghese will do a six-month practicum in the field. He is considering working in an American organization focused on peacebuilding and social justice issues. “I would like to understand how the system works here.” He envisions using his social justice education to further spread peace in India and the Global South.
For Varghese, this graduate work is like a painful but “exciting” surgery as he evaluates his work to date. “I am trying to cut open my thinking,” he says, “to the possibility of a new world view of social justice.”
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