Kahuli Swu is from Nagaland, India, and comes to Hartford Seminary with the ambition to work for peace and development through the IPP. She holds a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree from Serampore College, and a Diploma in Peace Education from Martin Luther Christian University(MLCU) in Shillong, Meghalaya. Both of her parents are retired Government teachers and she is one of seven children. Her nickname is Kaho.

After earning her BD, Kaho was involved in Church ministry and worked as a program assistant at the Clark Centre for Peace Research and Action (CCPRA) at Clark Theological College, Mokokchung, Nagaland. She has participated in three regional level Conflict Transformation workshops and attended two ‘Training of Trainers’(TOT) on Peace Count on Tour in 2010, 2012 and 2013 has worked on peace issues among the communities of the Northeast (India). Just prior to coming to Hartford Seminary this fall, she was working as an assistant coordinator at Peace Coalition of Northeast India (PCNI).

Kaho’s work at PCNI is what piqued her interest in interfaith dialogue and the IPP. PCNI has facilitated interfaith dialogue among Muslims and Christians in Assam (India) and between Hindus and Christians in Manipur. “Interfaith dialogue is an important work for PCNI as the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-faith settings in the northeast India region requires greater understanding for promoting Peace and Harmony,” she said.

We asked Kaho what made the Hartford Seminary program stand out and she replied, “I desired to train myself in an advance course on peace skills, particularly in interfaith and intercommunal settings so that I would be effective in my role as a peace builder.”

“I wanted to learn it from an institution that offers courses on interfaith and has ethno-cultural backgrounds,” she continued. “I found out that Hartford Seminary has such type of set up with diverse backgrounds and settings which will help to interact and learn skills that will help me in my work area.”

Kaho comes from the predominantly Christian state of Nagaland, India which has witnessed rifts between Catholics and Protestants. Conflicts also arise from interfaith misunderstanding between Christians, Hindus and Muslims. Kaho would like to address these issues at home after her year on campus. “An urgent need to address and facilitate better understanding among different denominations and faiths groups has been felt, which can strengthen harmony at the grassroots community level,” she said.