WHO WE ARE
The seeds of Center for Caring and Peace Initiatives (CCEPI) were planted thirty years ago when three desperate widows asked Dr. Rebecca Dali for food for their children. Over the last three decades, CCEPI has helped hundreds of thousands of Nigerian people and communities who face violence, displacement, trauma, and hunger. CCEPI works in beloved homelands of diverse communities and amazing people that have been caught in a terrible era--too often swept by mayhem.
Since those women approached "Dr. Rebecca"--as she is fondly called by thousands--CCEPI has grown into an incredible organization. CCEPI stepped into the global spotlight in 2017 when Dr. Rebecca was named global humanitarian of the year by the prestigious Sergio Vieira Foundation in Geneva.
In addition to tending to traumatized and displaced victims of terrorist groups, CCEPI plants seeds of peace and prosperity through education and livelihood programs, care for orphans, and development of local food systems and economies. CCEPI advocates on behalf of the people it serves, developing global partnerships to direct attention and resources to the people of northeast Nigeria.
CCEPI TODAY: EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT, EVOLVING
CCEPI thrives under the leadership of Dr. Rebecca., as a shared creation of many Nigerians and international supporters over the years, people from Nigeria, and around the world.
IN SERVICE
Donations fund responsive services, practical training, and emergency assistance to children, mothers, fathers and communities. People of all faiths and ethnic groups are welcomed and cared for, as are people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Each person in the CCEPI universe is respected as a dignified individual, a gift to our shared world, deserving of care, a home, and a future.
PROFESSIONAL
CCEPI’s programs are globally sophisticated while appropriate to local context. Staffed by caring professionals and volunteers, CCEPI works to international transparency, management, finance and accounting, and monitoring standards, meeting all donor requirements. CCEPI is the rare organization able to maximize every donation, ranging from one to one million dollars.
EVOLVING
The increasing global focus on “localization” highlights the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of domestic civil society organizations like CCEPI. This kind of “home-grown” organization is deeply rooted within its unique context, and committed forever to its communities, staff, local cultures, and society. CCEPI incorporates global evidence and “best practices” into its work, adapting them so they fit well and make the most difference possible.
OUR GLOBAL BOARD
PAM REIST - CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Pam Reist, Executive Pastor of Congregational Life, Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren.
Pam is grateful for the opportunity to serve as chairperson of the Board of Trustees of CCEPI. In 2017, Pam served for two months with the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, where she saw first hand the tremendous impact of the Center of Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives on behalf of the most vulnerable people in Nigeria.
A native of Ohio, Pam earned her BA from The University of Findlay and MA from Lancaster Theological Seminary, in 2004, when she was ordained for ministry. Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren called Pam as pastor in 2008 as shecompleted The Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Program: Advanced Foundations of Church Leadership, offered by The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership.
She has served on several boards, including the Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren, the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren, and the Samaritan Counseling Center.
DAVE FUCHS - TREASURER
David Fuchs is a retired Medical Doctor who serves as Treasurer for CCEPI USA. He collects donations and sends them to CCEPI in Nigeria via wire transfer. His other volunteer activities include The Ephrata Cloister and the Mennonite Life Archives in Lancaster, PA. Troubled by the violence n Nigeria, Dave says, "I am glad I could be of assistance. It has been gratifying to see the outpouring of support by so many donors."
SANDY BRUBAKER - BOARD MEMBER
Sandra Brubaker: “I have great respect for Rebecca and her work, and I feel honored to be part of this organization.”
Sandra began her career as a nurse and married shortly after graduating from nursing school, with husband Paul finishing medical school during the first years of marriage. Within a few years, they adopted their first baby girl. Over the course of the next seven years, they adopted two more girls, and then came two biological children, another girl and a boy. Sandra’s dominant career became being a wife and mother to her large family, and serving her church congregation. Today, she takes great joy in her seven grandchildren as well.
Sandy divides her time between church ministry, The Haiti Medical Project, and CCEPI. She enjoys serving on the CCEPI board.
MARK LANCASTER - BOARD MEMBER
Mark Lancaster has led domestic and international organizations across the US and 20+ countries. including serving as board chair of Heifer International. He has worked with the American Friends Service Committee and the Seva Foundation, and as a Philosophy and Religion professor at McDaniel College and Edison State College of Ohio.
Mark consults on fundraising, strategic planning, and program development, often focusing on climate change and justice. Recently Mark worked with Bethany Theological Seminary creating educational partnership with the Nigeria Church of the Brethren, building a high-tech educational facility in Nigeria.
Mark and his family live on a small organic farm in Englewood, Ohio. Mark’s wife Barbara is chaplain at Dorothy Love Retirement Community in Sydney, Ohio, and they have two children. When not farming, Mark hikes with his black lab, and reads about history, global cultures, and religious movements.
RICHARD ZALMAN - BOARD MEMBER
Dr. Richard Zalman is a member of the Academic Affairs staff at the University of the District of Columbia Community College, where he builds Career and Technical Education programs in the Health Sciences, in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, in Aviation Maintenance, in Hospitality, in Business, and in Early Childhood Education. Dr. Zalman holds a Ph.D. in Reading and Language and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Northwestern University, aa well as a Master of Science in Management from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T., where he was named an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. He was recently elected the 4th President of Global Tassels, an international non-profit organization that provides free college education to community-minded students in such countries as Haiti, the Philippines, and India. Dr. Zalman has been a teacher and an adjunct professor for over fifty years.
REV. DR. SAMUEL DANTE DALI - BOARD MEMBER
Rev. Dr. Samuel Dante Dali was born on May 20th, 1956, at Sina Kwande, Michika Local Government, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Married to Dr. Rebecca Samuel Dali, and blessed with 6 children.
Dali is an Ordained Minister of EYN-Church of the Brethren in Nigeria which he served for 43 years starting as health personnel in Dispensaries and as President of the Church from 2011 to 2016. He is has PhD in Church History at Birmingham University, England. He was lecturer and Academic Dean in Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN) Bukuru from 1996 to 2011.
He was an International Scholar in Residence in Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Indiana.
Dali Served as Scholar in Residence at Kline Bowman Institute for Creative Peacebuilding, Global Studies, Department of History and Political Science, Bridgewater College in September 2021.
From January to May 2021 Dali served as Research Fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, where he did extensive research on the history and public theology of Anabaptism.
From January to May 2018 Dali served as Scholar in Residence at Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. During this time, I did some research on the history of and Theology of Anabaptism.