A Description of the Day

The SNA-K Narok Team, Transmara Representatives, and Nairobi staff met in Narok Town, and boarded a matatu. The team travelled together to Ilariak grounds, an campground on the way to the Maasai Mara.

The first session was led by Narok’s DPC (District Peace Commissioner), Joseph Pareiyio, and the members got to introduce themselves so as to get acquainted with each other. After the introductions, members got to chat over a cup of tea. The second session was part briefing and part training. Jackie briefed the team on SNA-K’s activities and outlined the roles of the volunteers and how they are expected to conduct themselves during the outreach and events by SNA-K.

Volunteers play "getting-to-know-you" game

Mr. Pareiyio took over the session and discussed how teamwork is essential in achieving organizational goals. His talk was tailor-made to fit the SNA-K setting that involves going for outreach and holding public events. This was an insightful session for the members as they asked many questions and participated fully during the discussion. “When one person wins in a team, the entire team wins and when one person looses in a team, then the entire team loses.” “If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go with a group/team.” These were some of the concepts that were expounded by Mr. Pareiyio

After a short break, Mr. Pareiyio concluded the morning session by speaking about communication and  the role it plays in any organization and in any team. He noted that communication is the fabric that sustains and maintains any successful team and without it chaos ensues. The team played several games and looked at several examples about how to ensure effective communication, and the potential impacts of ineffective communication within a team.

After the session with Mr.Pareiyio, the team from Transmara was asked to pin point the volatile areas that they thought would benefit from SNA-K’s work. Various hotspots were noted and the reasons for conflict in those hot spots were discussed so as to understand root causes of conflict and the areas in which SNA-K’s approach could be most effective.

The team broke for lunch and was able to bond some more over the lunch session, since eating together is also a form of bonding. After lunch the afternoon session involved games and team sports. The games were to show the members how well they know each other and how well they can function as a team under pressure. It was fun and exciting as members competed against each other in different teams. Members learned how to work with each other to achieve great results in the games. The games centered on communication and trust.

Volunteers work to untangle their "human knot." Communication is key!

The games and sports session concluded the day’s main activities as the team broke off to have a cup of evening tea. The team was excited about spending time together, and even began to propose and plan a team camping trip.

The day had been successful from the beginning and the members were all delighted to have attended and learned all about teambuilding. Members said that they were fully equipped to conduct the upcoming events and outreaches.

Lessons Learnt

Teamwork is the key to any successful organization because it carries with it the elements of success. Mr. Pareiyio explained to the members that for peace to be sustained in the country, the people of Kenya must work together and working together is another term for teamwork. Kenya is made up of 43 different tribes that have different cultures and practices. This makes it hard to come to an understanding, especially when utilization of natural resources come into play e.g. rivers, land, springs etc. This, however, could be solved if the parties involved came together and worked together to reach a solution because two heads are better than one and different tribes coming together to solve a problem makes it much easier to reach a solution than when they try solving a problem as two separate groups.

A team is made up of different people and this was shown clearly from the introductions that were made. Mr. Pareiyio made us realize that as much as we are working together, we are all different people with different names, characteristics, interests, ages etc. These differences are very important in a functioning team because in a winning team you will find everyone has a different set of skills that he/she uses to the best of their abilities to enable the team to function well. If all the people/members of a team had the same set of skills and no diversity, the team would be limited to only what these people know. Diversity of people and their backgrounds makes the team more flexible and diverse, giving it the ability to handle different tasks and solve multiple problems effectively.

Spreading peace and maintaining peace involve the very essence of teamwork because when there is no teamwork in any group or society then peace is threatened since everyone does what they think is best for themselves and are thus likely to offend others and destroy any peace building that might be going on. A winning team, or a successful team, teaches others who observe it so many things. One need not to explain to people what the team is doing right because it’s clearly visible when a group of individuals come together and work in synch – the results can be huge. This is to say that before we preach peace, we must be at peace with each other so that we can function as a team even when we are in different areas.

Another critical area in teamwork that was mentioned was open and clear communication. This was stated as the glue or the fiber that holds a team together and keeps it from falling apart. Members who share openly with each other about different aspects of the team are able to encourage each other to achieve any set goals. Hiding or not addressing any issues concerning the team only serves to damage the relationship of the team members which in turn ends up crippling the team because someone might have a solution to a problem but isn’t comfortable enough to share it due to one reason or the other.

Working as a team has many benefits, and as peacemakers, the number one benefit for us is to spread peace and maintain peace, as this is our goal. Different cultures, races, tribes, personalities, genders and age groups working together on a common goal, translates to teamwork which in turn for us translates into peace.

The SNA-K Narok Team!

As part of our work with PeaceTxt, and with the support of PopTech, SNA-K has begun the year with two teambuilding exercises: one each in Nairobi and Narok. As we work to scale our outreach and increase community trust of SNA-K, building strong teams of volunteers is crucial.

On January 28th, the Nairobi team undertook a teambuilding with at total of 40 participants with the goal of ensuring that the volunteers would be able to know each other well and understand the importance of teamwork in their work with Sisi ni Amani – Kenya. The group met in Baba Dogo at SNA-K’s Kasarani office, and took a bus to Mji wa Furaha, where the teambuilding day was held.

Summary of the day

The day included getting-to-know-you games as well as an overview of SNA-K, the technology, and our expectations of the volunteers. The day was then facilitated by Nyaga Kamau who has extensive experience with teambuilding, capacity building, and has worked at and sat on boards for organizations in Korogocho for many years.

SNA-K Volunteers play a teambuilding game

Kamau took the approach of playing games and then facilitating evaluation and discussion of the games to help derive lessons about teamwork. The day began with a game that was a cross between basketball and handball. The group was divided into 4 smaller team, which named themselves Bluetooth, Dush, Eagles and Aquatic. The teams battled it out on the court and the game ended in a tie for all the teams. After the game the group evaluated each team specifically wanting to find out their strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This made the team members of each team re-evaluate actions that might have caused them to perform poorly. Volunteers then bonded over a refreshment break.

The second session was not so different from the 1^st one since it involved playing a game and getting a teaching after the game. This was very effective as the members tried as much as possible to work as a team during the games since they knew that they would be evaluated after the game.

SNA-K Volunteers Play Tug of War

After lunch the four teams that were made earlier in the day were merged into two teams so that they could play tug of war. The tug of war marked the end of the teambuilding games as Kamau tried to find from the loosing team what they did wrong and from the winning team what they did right. The members then had chicken as the day came to a successful end. The volunteers were given instructions on the upcoming activities in February, and were excited and happy as they had learnt that for any team or organization to function there must be teamwork.

Key Takeaways 

There were several key takeaways from the full group discussions and evaluations throughout the day.

SNA-K Volunteers discuss lessons learned from teambuilding exercises

Some of the discussion and lessons learned focused on peace as a way of life. There is usually a tendency for people who are working for a peace organization to put differentiation between the work they do and the lifestyle they live. You will find a peace worker getting violent when he is at home or with his friends and when asked how comes he is violent and yet works in a peace organization he will say that when he is at work, then it’s his work/job to be peaceful but when he is at home then there is no work involved there and he can do as he wishes. The message from the teambuilding is that peace should be a way of life it should resonate from home to school to work and to any other place a person relates with other people, it shouldn’t be limited to one place or area.

Additionally, there were important lessons about teambuilding. When a rope is being manufactured the more the strands that are woven into it the stronger the rope becomes. This strength doesn’t come easy because the more the strands the harder they have to be woven together to stay as one. This translates into the concept of team work nicely since in a team there are many members that constitute the team and these are like the strands and team members have to communicate, respect each other, carry out their tasks effectively, share victories and failures and this is the weaving of the strands together into a strong cord that can’t easily be cut and that is the essence of teamwork.

In a team the members work together and no one criticizes the other: instead, when the team isn’t functioning well the members sit down together to try and solve the problem as a group and not as individuals. Here there is no pointing of fingers or accusations. Instead, there is correction of mistakes so as to enable the members to move on as one. If there is a success in the team, the team once again comes together and analyses the reason for that success and how to maintain that success instead of crediting one individual as the reason of achievement. This motivates the members to know that they are part of the success rather than one individual who might get carried away and think that he/she did it by themselves.

Another important thing to note in all effective teams is that, they all are brought together because they share the same passion, and that might be the only thing they have in common since they are from different backgrounds, ages, gender, culture, religion etc. For example, European football teams buy players from Africa, America South America and Europe. These are people who have never met but they all share one common passion: football. They will work together to produce results. No-one coerced them or forced them to be in their teams, they all do it because they each have a passion for football therefore if anyone is in any group, they should be sure that their motivation is based on a passion and drive to achieve the goals set forward by that team. For example, with regards to SNA-K, members should share a passion for peace, and that is the most important reason to be involved.

One of the most exciting components of the new year is our collaboration with PeaceTxt.  As SNA-K launches this international collaboration, we wanted to take the time to reflect on the importance of this initiative in the Kenyan context.

In 2007, Kenya held a disputed presidential election, which resulted in widespread protests followed by violence throughout the country. The violence pitted ethnic communities against one another, and led to over 1,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout the country.  While Kenyan elections have historically been marred by violence, the 2002 elections (which brought democracy after many years of dictatorship) were peaceful, and the 2007 elections led to months of violence and displacement at a larger scale than ever before. The damage and distrust created by the 2007-2008 post election violence has yet to be healed in many Kenyan communities. 

Within the next year and a half, Kenya will hold its next general election, the biggest election ever to be held in sub-Saharan Africa (the election date is yet to be definitively confirmed). The election is the first to take place under the country’s new Constitution, which was ratified by a peaceful referendum in August, 2010. While the Constitution and the approaching elections hold promise for increased checks and balances and opportunities for civic engagement, the election carries with it a risk of future violence.

The Constitution changes the structure of the country’s government and internal boundaries, creating a system of counties and changing the borders of constituencies. This has caused some tension over how boundaries will be divided. The Constitution also changes electoral positions, and many individuals at the grassroots do not understand how the new structure of government will work, or even which positions they will be voting for.

Additional factors add to the potential for tensions and violence. Six alleged suspects of the post-election violence, two of whom are expected to run for the presidency in the next Presidential Election and are the main political leaders representing two major ethnic communities in Kenya, have been indicted by the International Criminal Court, and had initial hearings to judge if their cases will proceed to trial. The response of Kenyan politicians and the suspects themselves has created tensions between political parties.

The country still has high numbers of internally displaced persons who have yet to be resettled after the 2007-2008 post-election violence. The resettlement of IDPs is a contentious issue, as many continue to suffer in camps and resettlement plans threaten to inflame existing land conflicts between ethnic communities.

Despite resistance to ICC trials, the Kenyan justice system has been criticized for a lack of will and ability to try local cases of violence adequately. International leaders recently warned that the next elections will be “make or break” for Kenya at a conference in Nairobi.

Finally, it is important to note that tensions continued after the 2007-2008 violence stopped. In late 2009, BBC reported on an “ethnic arms race” in which communities were re-arming in preparation for the 2012 elections in the volatile Rift Valley. This means that many communities within the Rift Valley rearmed and still possess the weapons that they armed with.

SNA-K was founded in response to the events of 2007-2008, and the potential for future violence and the use of mobile technology to create a foundation for, plan, and help spread the post-election violence. During the 2007-2008 violence, mobile phones – specifically SMS – were used to spread rumors and fear and to organize weapons distribution and attacks. Violent actors were extremely effective at using these widely proliferated technologies, while peace actors were neither well prepared nor able to leverage these technologies to the same effect.

Since July 2010, SNA-K has worked to understand and implement programming that utilizes mobile phones, and specifically SMS, to help build peace, collaboration, and conflict resilience in Kenyan communities. We have built a subscriber base of over 10,000 individuals in our target communities, and implemented civic education, civic engagement, and peace promotion programming.

As we move towards Kenya’s next election, we can’t think of a more exciting partnership than the one we have just launched with PeaceTXT – a unique collaborative project of PopTech, CeaseFire, Medic Mobile, Ushahidi, and the Praekelt Foundation. The partnership supports our work here in Kenya to reach more people and more communities, while CeaseFire’s proven approach and successful methodology will add a new level of training and expertise for our local teams.

Most of all, we are excited to help create best practices on the implementation of SMS-based programming for peace promotion and violence prevention, and to incorporate these lessons into PeaceTXT International’s model, enabling the work we are doing here in Kenya to inform efforts on a larger scale.

SMS for Violence Prevention: PeaceTXT International Launches in Kenya

[This post was written by Patrick Meier, and originally posted on the Ushahidi blog here]

It’s sad to see the way most Kenyans vote. Voting is our power. It’s our most obvious opportunity to exercise democracy. It’s the best chance we have to impact change. Yet, the system of elections in Kenya prevents wananchi (citizens) from voting for their best interests.

In the 2007 election, many people didn’t focus on quality leadership. Instead they turned to voting for political parties. But in Kenya, there are too many parties, too many acronyms floating around, too many empty campaign promises. It creates confusion easily. It’s far too difficult to research the candidates for every party,  leaving many voters ignorant of the candidates. Even attempts to research parties could turn fruitless since political parties are all too willing to cover up their candidate’s tarnished records. If we were to dive deep into the records of the government workers who create these parties, we’d find massive corruption scandals. Unfortunately most voters still end up going to the polls to vote for the political party, not the candidate.

Those who are voted into office are same people who have already had a hand in government. They’re voted in over and over again. As they become greedy with power they find ways to avoid accountability for the money and programs that should be for wananchi. Yet, we don’t see this cycle we’re stuck in. We find it much easier to align ourselves with a political party.

Why is it Kenyans are so tied to voting along party lines? Besides the complex nature of Kenya’s party system, the most prominent cause is tribalism. In the 2007 election, the front-runners were known to be  leaders of their respective tribes. Voters elected whoever they felt would favor their people most. They believe they’re voting for their best interests, yet it is not always the case. For example, having the ever-coveted Parliamentary majority doesn’t always mean your tribe will benefit the most. Ultimately, the wealthy benefit most, regardless of tribe.

The second reason parties dictate voter behavior is a general lack of awareness. People tend to vote with the masses, wanting to align themselves with the winner. The candidate who puts on the best show is perceived as the likely “winner.” If he looks tough and talks smooth he’s won the voters. They don’t see that he may be corrupt, dishonest, and dangerous for Kenya.  With so many parties to research, most people don’t have the time or resources to educate themselves enough. So they end up voting for the big parties, the ones that are famous. Unfortunately those are ones that have always been part of the government. They are not the ones we can trust to affect change.

The third reason we see such party allegiance is the lack of employment. Unemployment makes people desperate for jobs. It gives candidates the opportunity to take advantage of such desperation. By claiming he will create tons of new jobs, a candidate wins the unemployed population’s votes. When you cannot feed your family, and someone promises you the opportunity to work, why would you need to do any more research on him? That candidate will get a huge percentage of the votes without standing for anything but an empty campaign promise.

So how do we move past this issue? How do we get people educated enough to use their votes wisely? Education and awareness have to start at the grassroots level. Today, most organizations see a large problem and try to create a equally large band-aid solution. Many civic education initiatives are not community-driven, meaning that they are unable to create sustainable solutions. A common approach is for organizations to come into a community like Baba Dogo and tell citizens a few things so we feel informed, so we feel empowered. Yet, there’s so much information lacking, which means that organization will need to return in the future.

Soon, we’ll be electing county governments. I would say more than half of slum residents have no idea how this system will work. There’s a need for community education, but a single colorful chart or forum, at the end of the day, leaves the community hanging, still in the dark about many things, and means that the organization needs to keep seeking more funds to come back and do more education in the future.

The most sustainable solution involves local community education. We need grassroots movements to create awareness and unity. The big leaders will divide us, and big organizations often do the same by privileging some community members over others and creating competition over the resources they provide.

We need to take control over what happens to our community. That’s one of the reasons Sisi ni Amani is creating the Community Manifesto. If we elect a leader in 2012, he needs to do what we ask for our community. We can’t be afraid of losing CDF funds. We can’t be afraid of being punished by our leaders. We need to do what’s best in the long run for our community. That involves educating our neighbors so we can elect the best leader possible.

If a grassroots movement is going to be successful it needs to be gradual. We can’t model ourselves after the big leaders in this country, who only do anything in the year leading up to their reelection. We need to do small things over a long period of time. That’s how you change a system. We fight a little, then live a little. People in this country—both politicians and voters—need to learn that real power lies down here at the bottom. Businesses are learning it. Safaricom is so successful because they began catering to the slum communities by creating 10 and 20 bob scratch cards. Their profits increased tremendously. There are enough of us here to make a real impact. This is where the power is and the sooner our people realize that, the better for us all.

It’s our power to put the best leader in office and hold them accountable for their actions. We can either be enslaved by voting or we can be freed by voting. It’s our decision. And we will be freed by the way we vote if we can forget ethnicity and wealth, and focus on leadership and vision.

All members agreed that the meeting went very well, with high attendance of over 90 individuals despite heavy rains and difficulty in travel. The participants were very active, making the forum extremely interactive.

The team concluded that SMS, posters, and radio were highly effective in advertising for the forum, but suggested that outreach on SNA-K in new areas would be crucial, as many individuals in attendance at the forum requested that SNA-K conduct outreach in their areas.

The chapter members pointed out that one of the most important parts of the forum was that both sides of the conflict were represented, and specific people and groups who have fought one another over land in the recent past were in attendance. Initially, these individuals asked pointed questions, attempting to prove one another to be in the wrong, but the team and the lawyer handled these questions by pointing to the procedures and lack of knowledge as the root cause of the issue.

By the end of the forum, participants stood up to testify to their realizations that, in the words of a chapter leader, “everyone was in the wrong because no one was following proper procedures.” These testimonies mainly spoke to the lack of benefit from violence, and the need for everyone to follow the correct procedures.  Many participants asked SNA-K to repeat the forum, stating that the forum and the information it presents are very important for the maintenance of peace. Individuals also said they realized that they only lose by fighting, and one participant went so far as to explain that people do not invest properly because there is no real peace, thus everyone loses economically.

Government officials understood the importance of the forum, and one reported that someone asked him in the morning why there was a peace meeting if there was no conflict. He responded that (paraphrasing): “once there is fighting, we can’t have a meeting – we have to prepare now so we don’t get to that point.”

At the end of the meeting, many individuals in attendance, including local government officials, requested that SNA-K hold similar forums in their areas to address the lack of knowledge on how to acquire land. Many told chapter leadership that they realized they were fighting for nothing and that their communities needed to be educated on the same.

The team will now work to conduct outreach in new areas to which they have been invited, and to replicate this forum in other areas.

Security is Nairobi is difficult to quantify. Crime comes in all forms on every socioeconomic level. We can’t label a single source of crime or plan out just one cure-all solution. We can’t discuss the issue of security in Nairobi without discussing community policing. In this city of informality, private community groups must fill the gaps left by government police. Recently, Sisi ni Amani sent an SMS to the Baba Dogo and Korogocho communities asking about ways to improve security. The most popular response was increased community patrolling. I’m tentative to agree. In fact, community policing is hurting communities more than helping them.

Accountability for vigilante groups is nonexistent. They don’t need to answer to the government or official police. Many consider themselves equal to such official policemen. They go overboard, getting excessively involved in domestic issues and committing caning and flogging. These men add to the violence rather than reduce it. Even when community patrols are doing their work, there are cases of mistaken identity. Sadly, too many innocent individuals have died at the hands of these vigilantes.

Without a set of standards for who they recruit, vigilante groups often devolve into gangs of youth, going door to door, collecting fifty bob to offer protection that doesn’t come through. Where the Kasarani chapter of SnA is located in Baba Dogo’s ACREF, we were asked by a group to pay 500 shillings a month for protection. We paid it for a while but ACREF was broken into a few months ago and robbed. Next time they came to collect, we asked those guys for some accountability, telling them, “If you want our money then we need a contract.” They refused so we refused to pay them. Why should we pay if they won’t follow through?  We do have a good rapport with the neighbors around. They’re willing to let us know what’s going on, what’s safe and what’s not. It’s a different kind of community policing, based in solidarity and mutual trust. If the community can be their brother’s keeper then we won’t need other people to take care of us.

Both the government and community police are part of a system that cannot deal with criminals effectively. When so many suspects are released, most likely because criminals are well connected and most can pay a bribe, the community suffers. Often the official and unofficial police kill suspected criminals. They see it as their own personal criminal justice. I see why they do this but I cannot justify it. We can’t condone the killing of our fellow human being, especially when, all too often, the wrong man is killed.

People love to talk about the cause of crime in Nairobi. Many blame it on the lack of employment, drug problems, or instability but ultimately it comes down to ignorance. Being broke doesn’t justify killing someone or stealing. It comes down to educating people not only on their options to build a better life, but also on morality. Sometimes the lessons just need to be forced into people’s psyche. An educated community is the foundation for a secure community. People do not bring peace to other people; people make peace wherever they are.

The show this week asked subscribers what their top priority was out of the series’ five topics. The most popular response pointed to security as the most pressing issue. Nothing constructive can happen in the community if security isn’t improved, as many of the responses indicated.

Throughout the show calls flowed in to thank SNA-K for its effort promoting peace, for facilitating forums, and creating the Community Manifesto. Many even celebrated the fact that security in Baba and Koch had improved since they’d begun discussing it so openly thanks to SNA-K and Koch FM. One woman from Korogocho attested to a safer neighborhood recently and hoped the show wouldn’t go off the air for long. She wasn’t alone as other listeners also lamented the end of the program. They don’t want to lose this invaluable opportunity to have their voices heard. Luckily, SNA-K will be continuing its partnership with Koch FM over the next several months.

SNA-K and Koch FM will continue partnering to promote peace and civic education through ongoing inspirational peace quotes, sent by SMS and also aired on Koch FM, and through a Holidays Civic Education Challenge, through which listeners will be quizzed on the new Constitution and will have the opportunity to win small prizes if they answer correctly. The hiatus will be used for the Kasarani chapter to identify leaders in each of the prioritized fields. These leaders will be invited onto the radio show to address the issues Baba and Koch residents face when the program returns in January.

On 29^th October, 2011, SNA-K’s Narok Chapter team led by Jackson Saruni held a public meeting at Kibilat, on the border of Mulot and Ololulunga divisions. This meeting was aimed at sensitizing the community on the issue of double leasing which is a common problem in this area and a source of tensions and at times violent confrontations between the different ethnic communities that reside in this area.

We had an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya present at the meeting to give a legal perspective to the issue of double leasing. More importantly, he informed, educated and answered the questions of the people present on various aspects of Sale of Land Agreements and Land Lease Agreements. Alex, the Advocate, took the public through what is required of a good lease and land sale agreements and what to look out for when getting into such agreements. He explained the legal and procedural requirements for both documents.

It is our hope and belief that through these public meetings and forums, wananchi (citizens) will be more alert and knowledgeable on double leasing and in turn this will reduce the number of violent confrontations and tensions that are caused by this problem. Also, we hope that those that engage in this illegal practice out of not knowing will change and conduct land deals in a legal manner.

The Chiefs, Pastors, District Peace Committee members and the People of the area that attended the public forum applauded SNA- K for the program, going so far as to call Chapter leadership to express their appreciation of the forum. We have been invited to hold similar forums in other parts of Narok South District and to continue supporting the existing mechanisms to foster peace among people of different ethnic backgrounds.

We would like to especially thank Saina Sena & Company Advocates for their time and legal expertise and we look forward to working with them in our objective of searching for community-based approaches to resolving conflicts and tension. Also, this forum would not have been possible without the help and dedication of our Chapter members in particular, Pastor Wilson Musonik, Ntutu, Nickson Kamoye and Jackson Saruni, put in the hard work to make this possible.

Photos coming soon!!!