PEACE BUILDING INITIATIVES 2014-2018
Our focus for the last one year has been on Peace and moderation programs. As you will vividly recall the post-election violence in Kenya has left lots of yet to be healed scars in our communities. The infamous modern crime and radicalization of youths is a new phenomenon that the globe is struggling with. At the helm of this scenario is the youth who many at t
imes has fallen prey to negative influences of religious intolerance, violence approach to addressing conflict and general mayhem character. Whilst these challenges are compounded and quite magnificent for a single party to handle, IICEP has attempted to undertake humble but very targeting programs in addressing the above, at the community level
This initiative is a sub-component of a wider IICEP campaign in enhancing the role of youth in realizing sustainable peace .Currently our initiative is reaching out to youth in Nairobi Eastleigh area and informal settlement in Nairobi to foster strong youth peace building networks on the ground. The programs are designed based on the needs of the different groups. Campaign Sitarusha Mawe
Sitarusha Mawe isa Swahili phrase to mean I will Never to throw Stones. This program has been targeting youth living in the informal settlements of Nairobi. The informal settlement occupy one-eighth of the land space in Nairobi but hosts three-quarters of the city’s population of four million people. Apparently informal settlements have been characterized with lots of risk and vulnerability conditions. Many factors combine to make them the most violent neighborhoods. These include poverty, ethnicity, high rate of crime, drug abuse, and high rate of unemployed youth among others. In this program, IICEP is working closely with Nairobi Integrated Youth for Peace Youth. Most youth in the informal settlement have been known for the infamous habit of throwing stones and causing mayhem .This is also eminently evident whenever there is conflict where youth from the said areas would be at the forefront engaging police in running battles ,fueling the violence. IICEP is currently training these youth to adopt non violence ways to resolve conflict. The Moderation program
This program has been targeting Kamukunji area with focus on Eastleigh and Majengo communities. It involves youth, teachers, religious and community leaders. The program has been addressing alternatives to non violence, religious Tolerance and shunning extremism, radicalization and genera; negative influence on youth. The Somali United Youth for Peace is a lobby group spearheading the moderation program activities in Eastleigh. Moving forward;
The challenges facing the youth are not a reserve of the aforementioned groups. The plight of modern crime, radicalisation and lack of interfaith accommodation is sweeping through many youth in the coastal region. The entire belt is at risk of perish lest deliberate efforts are injected now rather than later. IICEP therefore intends to replicate her Nairobi programs in Mombasa and Kwale Counties in an attempt to rescue the thousands of youth trapped in the melee. As we do this we take this opportunity to humbly appeal for the support of all in enabling this dream.
