KIBERA YOUTH PROGRAMME FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
by James Kanali and Kennedy Odhiambo
Introduction
In 1995 two communities who had always co-existed peacefully in Nairobi's Kibera slum got entangled in a fierce fight. They were the Luo, predominantly Christian, and the Nubians, predominantly Muslim. The fight resulted in the loss of many lives as well as in massive destruction of property. All this began after a criminal act was committed by thugs, perceived to belong to one of the two communities. The government failed to pacify the two warring communities and, instead of involving all parties in the search for an acceptable solution, they used force. The failure to resolve the crisis, coupled with already existing socio-economic hardships, resulted in the deepening of tension and of suspicion between the two groups. This situation persists to this day. Every time something goes wrong in Kibera, chances are that one community will blame the other and violence will erupt, causing destruction and suffering to all.
Formation of KYPPEDE
It is against this volatile background that the youth groups in Kibera - mainly Silanga, Spartan, Amani ya Mungu, Salama, Al Safa, Kicoshep, Christ the King, and others, came together despite their differences and made a decision not to be used as tools of violence. They promised to stop expressing their anger violently towards one another and sought the professional advice of peace-minded organisations such as People for Peace in Africa and NPI-Africa (Nairobi-Peace Initiative-Africa).
It was not an easy task to find a neutral place to hold an inter-faith forum. The late Dr. John Ligoo (Chemchemi), Sheikh Juma Ngau (Vice-Chairperson, SUPKEM, Mombasa) and Fr. Joachim Omollo (People for Peace) facilitated the first encounter between young people from different communities. The forum was held on November 22nd 2000 and the discussion concerned the teachings about peace from both Christian and Muslim perspectives.
As a result of the forum, the participants came up with the idea of forming an umbrella interfaith youth organisation to look into the problems of both Christian and Muslim youth. So they formed the Kibera Youth Programme for Peace and Development (KYPPEDE). Its main objective is to bring about change in a positive way and to act as a role model. KYPPEDE thus brings together youth, both young men and women, from different religions, learning institutions and groups, who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting peace and development.
After its formation, KYPPEDE felt the need to equip itself with peace building and conflict resolution skills. NPI-Africa accepted to offer them a four-day training course in peace building and conflict transformation. The training helped the youth to sharpen their vision for peace and it also gave them an opportunity to plan their activities in a strategic manner. John Katunga, Dorothy Ndungu and Peter Maruga of NPI-Africa facilitated the peace building and conflict transformation workshop.
Today KYPPEDE's network has grown and working relationships are underway with organizations, which value our work. Since its inception, KYPPEDE has focused on achieving an enlightened religious and gender balanced youth constituency and creating forums for discussion and dissemination of information.
KYPPEDE initiatives
Below are examples of KYPPEDE initiatives:
· On 8th March 2001 they organised activities for International Women's Day. This was supported by FIDA, Association of Sisterhoods in Kenya, Youth Agenda, Nairobi Peace Initiative Africa, Chemchemi ya Ukweli, among others.
· From 14th to 20th April this year KYPPEDE organised an event termed "youth and volunteerism." This event included a clean up exercise, medical treatment for the poor, feeding orphans, awareness about and screening for HIV/AIDS, a football tournament and a youth symposium. The organisation received generous support from many organisations. Among them were Nairobi Peace Initiative-Africa, Peace Net, Sarova hotels, Metro FM Radio, Nation Media Group, AAR, Iran Medical Clinic, Nairobi City Council. Members of the various communities also assisted them.
· On 9th July 2001, KYPPEDE, in partnership with Oxfam GB, joined the rest of the world in campaigning against illegal trade in small arms and light weapons.
· Currently KYPPEDE is in the process of introducing a programme of peace brigades. This programme aims at involving young people within Nairobi in building a team of peace ambassadors. The aim of the brigades is to propagate peaceful coexistence among communities and report any activity that could turn violent to KYPPEDE. The organisation benefited from NPI-Africa's advice in the articulation of this project.
KYPPEDE challenge
KYPPEDE has had success in the organisation of various activities. But now its challenge is to establish a secretariat and to gather resources for capacity building. Discussions are now under way with organisations like Oxfam, Caritas, NPI-Africa, Peace-Net, People for Peace in Africa to see whether they can assist KYPPEDE in these urgent tasks.
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