Camels cross Kenya for peace
23 September 2008
After a youth spent selling potatoes by a Kenyan riverside, at the age of 32
Rachel Wambui's life has taken a very different turn: leading a camel troupe
across Kenya on a mission to promote peace.
Rachel is the director of Voluntary Youth Philanthropists (VYP), a
DFID-supported organisation that targets Kenya's young people with its message
of working together to overcome tribal divisions and poverty. Earlier this year,
under the banner "Vijana kwa Undugu Milele" (Youth for unity forever), Rachel
coordinated a peace caravan to take VYP's message to the heart of the country.
Youth leaders on board
With youth leaders from all the provinces of Kenya on board, the team travelled by camel for 21 days, starting in the capital Nairobi and crossing the country to the port city of Kisumu. The use of camels was symbolic, a way of showing solidarity with the ethnic groups in Kenya’s northern desert areas.
Spurring the group onwards were the tragic events that rocked the country following the general election of December 2007. A disputed result triggered widespread violence, costing the lives of more than 1,000 people and forcing a further 500,000 to leave their homes.
Entertaining and empowering
When the 40-strong team arrived in villages they staged plays, organised
sports activities, delivered motivational talks and set up
exercises designed to promote harmony.
They also visited several camps for people who had been forced to leave their
homes in the aftermath of the election. One camp was located in Naivasha, a town
that witnessed some of the worst violence.
Anthony, a Red Cross volunteer at the camp, was delighted by the caravan’s arrival. "What is so good is that you will be camping here with the displaced people and sharing their experiences in the camp," he said at the time. "You are doing great work. We can only provide humanitarian aid here but your work means you can act as ambassadors for the displaced people of the country."
As well as encouraging young people to talk about how they had been affected by conflict, the team also got them to think about how they could foster peace in their communities in the future.
Building a stronger Kenya
During its three-week tour it is estimated that some half a million people saw the caravan in action. And behind it all was one woman's passionate belief in the need for peace and the difference young people can make towards achieving it.
"In the past young people have been both the perpetrators and the victims of violence," Rachel says, "but now we need to look to them to give a new direction to our country. Youth hold the future of Kenya. If you empower young people, you will empower the country as a whole. Together we can make it!"
With Rachel and others like her working tirelessly - and with DFID support -
to build peace, there is every chance that a strong Kenya will emerge from the
troubles of the last year.
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Facts and stats
- Following a disputed general election in December 2007, Kenya experienced political instability and widespread violence, but peace returned with the formation of a grand coalition government in February 2008.
- DFID provided £2 million from the UK’s aid programme to the Red Cross to help relieve the most urgent humanitarian needs of people affected by the post-election violence.
- VYP is a youth-led organisation. It supports young people in grassroots peace campaigns.
- The National Response Initiative (NRI) is the national framework to coordinate the response to the post-election crisis. It brings together Kenyan civil society organisations and has received over 100 proposals from other organisations to work on building peace.
- NRI receives donations from several sources, with £300,000 received from DFID to date. NRI has provided funding to VYP of 1.6 million Kshs (£127,000).
Links
Voluntary Youth Philanthropists
- How we fight poverty: Conflict
- Case study: After the election: Red Cross volunteers bring hope to Kenya
