South Sudan

Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather

Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather work with RECONCILE (Resource Centre for Civil Leadership), an indigenous ecumenical Christian organization established in March 2004 by a national church council of the New Sudan Council of Churches. It promotes peace building by providing training in trauma recovery, conflict transformation, and civic education.

RECONCILE’s activities are in areas of high inter-ethnic conflict, with the churches often being the typical point of entry into these communities. Shelvis and Nancy participate in RECONCILE’s training events that address inter-ethnic conflict. Shelvis serves as the principal of the RECONCILE Peace Institute, which offers three-month courses in community-based trauma healing as well as peace studies and conflict transformation.