RAOEN is implementing a biome-based synodality project to engage more broadly with ecclesial communities in Oceania, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and new staff are contributing to this work.
James Pochury is the RAOEN Regional Coordinator, from India, and is part of the tribe of Naga people. With over 15 years of experience in facilitative leadership, James is dedicated to enhancing the voices of marginalized communities. Through participatory exercises, he advocates democratic engagement for sustainable interventions. Believing in the agency of every individual to shape their own destiny, he seeks to broaden his perspectives. His journey from experiencing injustice in India’s conflict-ridden Northeast to advocating for peace through reconciliation shapes his work. His career spanned organizations like Caritas India, Catholic Relief Services, Plan International, Human Rights Law Network, and ActionAid. His years at ActionAid were transformative, focusing on human rights and grassroots empowerment. James is based in Bangkok,Thailand and will animate the ecclesial visits that are the goal for this year while putting together, with the RAOEN team, the operational plan and theory of change of RAOEN.
Raydan “Dansoy” Tangwayan is the Project Manager of the RAOEN biome-based synodality project, from the Philippines, and belongs to the Indigenous Peoples tribes of Manobo and B’laan. He previously worked with projects that tackled women’s concerns and helped in establishing women’s organizations in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. His previous work also focused on the promotion of the circular economy and child rights. Dansoy pursued a sustainable development course in New Zealand and is currently a third-year law student.
Three RAOEN subregional coordinators (for Oceania, South Asia, and Southeast Asia) are also in line to be engaged and applicant interviews are ongoing with the RAOEN Steering Committee and Advisory Council providing advice and guidance.
RAOEN’s mission is to nurture Church and creation by listening to people, especially Indigenous Peoples, oceans, lands, and forests, and engaging a dialogue across the biome of Oceania and Asia, with local churches, the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). and the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) as part of the journey of synodality.