We are pleased to welcome Fr. Shaiju Chacko (Diploma in Development Leadership, 2011) as he returns to Coady International Institute to complete a Coady Fellowship over the next month.

Fr. Chacko is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir State of India. He holds Masters in Social Work from the University of Delhi and is a Coady graduate.

After completing Coady’s Diploma in Development Leadership program, Fr. Chacko returned to Jammu and Kashmir to lead a program on skills development for disenfranchised youth initiated by the Indian Central government.

Fr. Chacko says his time at Coady provided the foundations for him to practice his leadership approach and skills in a highly complex socio-political and economic environment. The program helped him focus on community-based approaches and to engage youth as partners, who otherwise have been unable to dream or aspire in their lives.