KENYA TUNA UWEZO: WE ARE THE SOLUTION

PROFILES OF PEACEThe contents of this publication do not express the views of USAID nor does the use ofthe USAID logo represent an endorsement from USAID.

Muslim Youth Commit to Stability in Nairobi’s Underserved Neighborhoods Shukri Abdullahi came to Kenya from Somalia at age six, but even after 14 years of living in the country, she is still often viewed as an outsider. To counter the discrimination she faces and to help reduce conflict in her home of Eastleigh, she participated in—and was trained in—counseling, entrepreneurship, leadership skills and conflict resolution through KTU. Everything she does centers on training youth about the dangers of violent extremism and where it inevitably leads—prison or death. She leads support groups for youth and women at Eastleigh’s medical center. The work with youth entails exploring their culture and teaching others about it, and helping survivors of trauma—people who have flashbacks from conflict in Somalia, and other mental problems.

KTU makes a point of working with youth on weekends when school isn’t in session, so that they aren’t left with too much free time and tempted to engage in illegal activities. “We want them to know how to get knowledge from other places they might not have expected or know about,” Shukri says. “Instead of being idle, now they have something. At the end of the day they have gotten knowledge and they can put food on the table.”

When Shukri is not busy trying to end violence and support young people, she worries constantly that as a Somali native, she will never get a job without high-level connections in Kenya. This concern stems from her brother’s experience: their mother moved the two of them to Kenya when they were young for fear of lack of opportunity in Somalia. Her brother graduated from university in Kenya but learned his job prospects were bleak without connections. He moved back to Somalia, where he was told he would not be hired since he had not grown up nor been educated there, and that he should return to Kenya. On a regular basis, Shukri’s mother tells her to marry a rich man or she will discontinue giving her the small amount of money she earns from selling tea in Somalia. But because of KTU, she remains determined to have a better life in which she can not only support herself but just as importantly, speak for herself.

In addition to prejudice from fellow residents, poor youth of Somali origin in Nairobi also have to contend with harassment from the police. One night when she was 19, Shukri was on her way home from leading a support group for disengaged youth when she was arrested for seemingly no reason. She spent a tearful, confusing night in jail. Youth feel their mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement starts from the top. They say they know that street patrol officers have been given orders from on high to harass minority youth, since they are considered frightened, easy targets. But through KTU, these youth have learned their rights, and now when they interact with police they are better able to defend themselves.

Shukri Abdullahi, Kamila Mohamed, and Rahma Salat of the Eastleigh informal settlement.

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 2

Rahma Salat, 22, says that before KTU, she and her fellow Muslims in Eastleigh never interacted with people from other backgrounds. She says Muslims have been largely eyed with suspicion and treated unfairly, often being kicked off a bus for no reason, and widely considered to be terrorists, even if they are Kenyans and hold the requisite national ID card. But now, “KTU has helped more people be more open-minded by interacting with people who are different. It was hard to deal with especially because many of us had never been welcome to discuss these issues, even with our own families,” Rahma says. Ever since she can remember, discussing ethnic and religious differences wasn’t allowed in her home because her mother was afraid people might overhear and think they were terrorists. She also laments that criminal elements are taking advantage of gullible youth and luring them with lies. “They convince these kids that they’re just defending their religion, so they join. That’s usually people with no money and no life,” she adds. But through KTU she works to change minds and reduce violence, in part by persuading youth to give up crime in favor of increased opportunities in peaceful communities.

Rahma is proud that with the training she has received with KTU and with the sense of community it has created, she can now call herself a leader. She is studying to become a counselor, just one of the things she never had the opportunity to do before. Having seen the benefits of KTU training, the government has granted small amounts of money for these youth to get involved in—or even start—various small businesses. And with each microenterprise that gets off the ground, they hope another will soon follow, improving these areas and the prospects of all those who live in them.

Young People Help Peers Overcome Addiction in Informal Settlements Youth in Nairobi’s informal settlements have not traditionally been looked to as voices of authority, or peace, or improving the lives of people who call these slums home. But in Nairobi, youth are increasingly becoming their own advocates and helping increase community activism among the most disadvantaged. Through the help of KTU, they have learned how to communicate better and help counter violent extremism (CVE) and other unlawful activity by offering education, training and mentorship to at-risk youth.

At a forum on drug addiction in Mathare, several KTU youth—former addicts who are now Change Agents and Cohesion Champions (CACC)—put their skills on full display by training some 60 other youth in recovery on how to survive in the slums, in part by avoiding extremist violence. Because of their past experiences, the presenters say they feel compelled to reach out and pass the benefit of their knowledge on to others to help them, just as they were helped in the past. The CACC know, from their own histories, that youth struggling with addiction are most likely to accept help from youth who have been through similar travails. It is also important that they hail from the same area so that they know the dynamics of the settlement and have common connections who can provide support. The trainers and trainees all live in the six wards of Mathare, for years a hotspot of violence.

KTU educates youth about the destructiveness of violent extremism and the importance of coming together for the shared goal of peace. The trainers, who proudly call themselves reformers, started this addiction forum by identifying which drugs are most used in which areas, the challenges people face, and providing counseling and resources on how to forward. Getting the youth in recovery to join community-based organizations instead of dealing and/or using drugs is critical not only to help provide them a focus, but also to help them improve their employment prospects, something of particular import in the high-unemployment slums.

Self-awareness is another major component of the outreach. Addicts need to know what they want and what they need to be willing and able to make the changes that will get them where they want to be. Peer pressure is a serious problem to overcome in the slums, since many of the youth rarely venture away from their settlements.

KTU also works on issues like gender-based violence and child labor. Additionally, they actively engage with law enforcement in an effort to convey their dedication to working with police to keep the peace. Fortunately, CACC Geanette Odieny says, the police have been very responsive, especially when they explain to police the criminal activity they used to be involved in. The police come to understand that these youth are trying to live their lives peacefully and that they are eager to solve problems, not cause them. KTU works tirelessly to break down myths on both the side of law enforcement and the youth they interact with.

Geanette Ochieny of the Mathare informal settlement.

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 3

Young Women Given Tools and Support to Improve Their Situations

Carolyne Awuor and Dorine Akinya are 23 and 22 years old respectively, and despite their young appearances and girlish demeanor, they both head households with at least six children. Some are their own and the others are their siblings, as their parents are all dead from accidents or AIDS. Not having finished school, they are eager to learn how they can support their families in ways that are legal and safe. Occasionally they do laundry for other families to earn a few shillings but that doesn’t come close to paying for food, school fees and rent. More often than not, they prostitute themselves, a common way to earn money in the slums. Knowing the risks of the lives they lead and the lack of steady income, they came to a forum for women to learn other ways to earn money, and also to help direct other young women away from situations similar to their own.

At the forum Carolyne heard from many other women who go to clubs to find a man to support them. She would rather earn her own salary without breaking the law. She is good at science, and she used to dream of being an engineer, but she dropped out of school and had her first child at 17 after her parents died. She knows that returning to school is unlikely but with the business training she receives from KTU, she hopes to learn skills to start a small enterprise.

Dorine would love to be a journalist but even if she had money to go back to school, there would be no one home to take care of all the children in her care. If she doesn’t go back to school, she worries about whether they will eat. She also places a high premium on their education, knowing the limits of not having one. To make matters worse, her teen siblings are not in school because in Kenya, the government provides subsidized schooling only through grade 8. “I can’t work and go to school so I’m working with KTU to figure that out,” she says.

At the forum, she was pleased to learn about other youth who received training on how to manage and start a business with just a small amount of capital. She hopes to get enough training to do the same. Both Dorine and Carolyne know that without formal education, business training is their best chance to support themselves and their families.

Esther Wazirana loves working as a Change Agent/Cohesion Champion in the Makuru slum. She wants to help provide better lives for poor young women, and to support them as she had been supported growing up in a secure environment with loving parents. Though her parents are now deceased, she says that because of the good start she had in life, she wants to be there for young women who have no one to speak to or help them in their worst moments. Many girls have told her that they have been raped, and because there is no treatment center close to the slum, she accompanies them—and provides transportation to—a far-off clinic where they can get help. They know she will be helpful and compassionate, that she will keep what she tells them confidential, and that she will assist them in any way she can.

Carolyne Awuor Oduor and Dorine Akinya

Women’s Group Meeting conducted by KTU

Esther Wazirana

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 4

Other times, her work as a mentor is even more challenging, like when young people come to her and tell her they are hungry. Without food or opportunity, youth are more likely to become radicalized and turn to crime. The youth she works with often ask if they can wash her clothes to earn a little money, and she lets them. She also started a garbage collection service on her block so youth can earn additional income. The weekly service keeps them busy, and some of them are even able to save some money. “KTU has given me a platform to help these people,” she says. “I love that I have this opportunity to be a mentor in the communities where it is most needed.”

Irene Kerubo says her work as a Change Agent/Cohesion Champion in the Kiambiu slum has literally saved her life. A former gang member, Irene used to run. She ran from police who had been given orders to kill her, from gang members, and from a hungry newborn who went unfed. “He suffered because I was always running,” she says. When she learned about KTU and the vocational training it offered, she decided it was time to stop running. She completed the training and now works in plumbing and construction. She confidently carries her construction hat, reflective vest and tools everywhere she goes in case she comes across a chance to work. She is proud of her new skills and loves being able to provide for her family. Now when people in her community see her, they come closer, not further away. Young women in particular respect her for turning her life around and for trying to make things better for others like them in Kiambiu.

Change Agents/Cohesions Champions of Mathare Work Toward Common Goal of PeaceJulia Mjoki says that in 2013, the residents of Mathare feared election-related violence. Wanting safety, especially for the children of their slums, they took action. “That was the year we said ‘No more—to violence, blood and death’,” she says. “We all promised to be peacemakers.” Julia says that even after KTU comes to a close, she and so many others will carry on the lessons they have learned and pass them on to other members of the Mathare community. “We joined together and took action as mothers, brothers and cousins. We will go on—we will keep this fire burning.”

Jakiwa Inda remembers all too well what he calls the dark days of Mathare when, not so long ago, violence and untreated mental illness regularly plagued the place he calls home. While community organizers in the past had talked about promoting peace and expanding opportunity, it never went further than conversation. That’s why he is grateful that KTU came on the scene with talk and action. “We have to practice peace, we have to have practical ways to get it or it won’t happen,” he says.

Jakiwa readily admits that he used to be part of the problem in Mathare. He was in a gang and he was violent. But KTU turned him around by offering alternatives to crime. “I used to live my life like, get rich or die trying,” he says. Now, as a proud champion of social justice, he is a community mobilizer who works with youth to change the behaviors and attitudes that he used to have.

He says the cohesion-building by KTU has helped promote tolerance among different groups, and that it has brought hope to people who had none. The work with law enforcement has especially helped improve relations in the slums. His neighborhood is more secure now, and with increased peace, youth have legal avenues to pursue. He says that only by building trust among groups and taking concrete action on the slum’s ills can they find solutions for employment, for tolerance, and for peace.

Jakiwa Inda, a former criminal and now KTU Cohesion Champion in Mathare

Irene Kerubo, far left, with members of Kiambiu Youth for Peace and Development, listens to the Assistant County Commissioner of Kamukunji at a peace forum

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 5

Abdallah Omari has been active with KTU since it began. He says youth of his generation have become devoted to ending conflict because they have seen and had enough. Now, not only is there considerably less violence, but people are even marrying outside their tribes, something that hadn’t happened before. He sees this as a serious indicator of how far community relations have come. On Mathare residents he says: “We have within us a bond. There is a lot of potential for peace advocacy in the ghetto.”

Esther Ruguru used to be in a gang, until KTU and its members helped persuade her to choose peace over violence. “I know that if it wasn’t for Julia [Mjoki] and KTU I would be dead by now because of the things I used to do,” she says. The many trainings have helped her personally and professionally. She has been able to heal from her prior life, and she is grateful that when KTU comes to a close, she will still be hustling because of her commitment to changing her life. No job is beneath her; she is eager to learn and does many jobs that others are not qualified for—or interested in doing—like plumbing and construction.

Today, Esther’s main preoccupation is thinking about how to pay school fees for her children. Before KTU, she would take every opportunity to rob anyone of anything. Now, she has changed completely with the support and relationships she has formed. “I was living perpetually under fear, but now committing crimes isn’t in my mind.” She says her son is proud of her because he remembers how she used to be. And instead of being called names by people in her community, she is happy to be addressed by her name.

Kebale Bonyaya, of Somali origin, joined KTU to help make peace in her community, especially among youth who fought tribes not their own, as well as those addicted to drugs. She had seen enough peers lose their lives at young ages because of criminal activity. She says that previously when she would see police, her instinct was to run, and theirs was to shoot. But now she is on friendly terms with them. She says there are still killings but that they have definitely been reduced with the help of KTU.

Also before KTU, she was afraid to walk through Mathare because people called her Al Shabaab. “You have no idea how painful that is. Now they don’t call me that because they know the good work I’m doing for them too,” she says. “Now I have a platform to be seen by the community as a positive agent for change rather than as a terrorist.” And when a Somali youth was wounded in the Westgate Mall attack, many young people volunteered to give blood to help him. Kebale attributes this to the important role assigned to Change Agents and Cohesion Champions, the seriousness with which they take those roles, and the influence they have over others who used to think nothing of committing crimes.

Moses Hanjou says the recognition of Change Agents and Cohesion Champions in the community has been widespread and that people truly see them as the leaders that they are. In just a few years, they have earned such trust through their community outreach that people have more faith in them to keep the peace than they do in much of the government, because they reach both the aggrieved and the aggressor more quickly and efficiently. He says KTU is responsible for “my transition from bad to good.”

Single Mothers Receive Counseling and Training for EmploymentAt a recent forum for single mothers from the slums of Nairobi, KTU worked with young women to help identify ways to protect themselves from the many risks they encounter on a daily basis, and provide them with opportunities to better their lives and those of their children. The forum entailed helping them find ways to move on from their current situations, and emphasized that even if they aren’t able to return to school or pursue other long-held dreams, there are other options available to them. Of roughly 70 attendees, four graduated from high school.

The lack of education, information, counseling and birth control in Nairobi’s informal settlements result in many girls becoming pregnant at an early age, and more often than not, the fathers of their children are absent—either by choice, or because they are in jail or dead. The women, by contrast, end up at home trying to take care of children they cannot support with few avenues out. And because drugs are prevalent in the slums, very often poor, addicted women trade sex for drugs, leading to even more unintended pregnancies. And with a lack of options, the women and the males in their lives are more susceptible to turning to extreme violence to support themselves.

Now I have a platform to be seen by the community as a positive agent for change rather than as a terrorist.”

—Kebale Bonyaya, Mathare resident of Somali origin

“

Abdallah Omari of Mathare

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 6

Jane Muaura works with The Youth Banner, a partner of KTU, to provide entrepreneurship training and economic empowerment to young women in these settlements. She used to sell drugs and engage in other illegal activity. Having experienced the dangers of these pursuits, she is eager to steer women toward more viable, profitable, and lawful activities, which is especially challenging in the slums where opportunities are few. While it may not sound like an entrepreneurial topic, the trainers spent considerable time focused on the importance of birth control. Jane says that improving financial health is nearly impossible without having knowledge about, and access to, affordable contraception. “Most women who get pregnant or HIV do so because of lack of information, and this is a big part of changing environment and lifestyle,” Jane says.

KTU trainers also emphasized the importance of reporting rape, which is rampant in the slums. She says most women don’t report it because it happens so often that they come to see it as normal. And despite these serious safety risks, even if women earn some money, most cannot move away from the slum because it is the most affordable option.

Youth, Law Enforcement Collaborate for Improved Relations, Safer Communities While work remains to improve relations between youth and police, KTU has achieved great progress breaking down barriers between the two groups. Inspector Simon Bitok works in the Mathare settlement as liaison security officer to KTU. He has been with KTU since its inception, and he says previous attempts to build cohesion in the slum failed. He says he wholeheartedly agrees with KTU’s mission to engage with dialogue, not guns.

Knowing the slum is prime for crime in large part because residents are jobless, supporting them with alternatives to crime—many of which lead to employment—has shown great results. Because they see him regularly and know he is working on their behalf, they feel more comfortable reporting crimes and expressing their concerns. Time and again, Bitok has seen youth abandon their criminal ways once they see another option, and once they feel they are listened to and respected.

Consistent communication has helped the youth have positive experiences with officers, and helped lessen the hostility that used to characterize their interactions. Bitok says the crime rate is down, in part because the youth who were previously part of the criminal elements in the slum are now vital resources of information.

But in addition to improving relations with youth, Bitok has also had to persuade his colleagues that partnering with KTU would help them do their jobs more effectively and make Mathare more secure. Initially he encountered resistance from other security forces who

Jane Muaura

Inspector Simon Bitok delivers a speech during the KTU Community Achievements Celebrations held in Mathare

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 7

failed to understand that having dialogue and building consensus were a vital part of the solution. But when they saw the results for themselves—how they received a different reception in Mathare and how crime was down—they understood the value of KTU and now support its efforts.

He adds that KTU complements the work he does at the community level every day, by connecting various groups and working together, and that the success of the community-based approach is slowly but surely evolving to the national level throughout other areas of Kenya. “KTU is the greatest program I’ve seen. Before, I was fighting alone and I was losing the battle,” he says.

Paralegals Represent People in the Slums and Resolve Disputes, Free of Charge A homeless man in Nairobi was minding his own business one day when all of a sudden he was caught in a hail of gunfire. Hit by a stray bullet, bleeding and badly shaken, he went to the police for help. They gave him a few shillings and sent him on his way.

This was a case for the Community Justice Centre (CJC), a one-stop shop legal aid clinic that works on human rights issues including police brutality, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearance, labor, gender-based violence and housing. Working as part of KTU and a host of pro bono lawyers, 20 CJC volunteers help poor people in Nairobi access justice. In the case of the homeless man, they ensured he got medical treatment and that the officer who interacted with him was reported.

Paralegal Ezekiel Njenga of CJC says when police clash with innocent citizens, many youth turning to radicalism to protest this treatment, often including extreme violence. To counter such actions—and reactions—CJC reaches out to members of the community including victims, law enforcement and government officials to ensure that human rights are observed and when they are not, that consequences follow. By serving as constant monitors, they hope to reduce violence and increase fair treatment for all, particularly those who are frequently marginalized to the sidelines of society.

Their charge is especially challenging when the communities they serve are ill-informed, uneducated and intimidated by the state. Without knowing and demanding their rights, the possibility of self-advocacy is nonexistent. Paralegal Girland Ndirangu says that by building awareness of human rights, they hope to empower people to build the capacity of their own communities. Without the expansion of democratic space, the newly ratified Constitution will be meaningless. “People have a responsibility to engage so we can try to bridge the gap of socioeconomic challenges in this city,” he says. “None of us can work in isolation; we need to partner with the state and others.”

One woman they represented had been a domestic worker for one family for four years. When she arrived late for work one day, her boss fired her immediately and refused to pay her the money she owed her. CJC sent the woman a demand letter summoning her to their office, but because it is in a slum, she was afraid to go there. So they agreed to meet in a government office where she and the domestic worker each told their stories to CJC and a government official. The official ruled that the worker had been wrongly terminated and ordered her boss to pay her the back wages she was owed.

And to improve relations with government, CJC communicates openly and constructively with state officials—not just police, but all others. Some in the government see CJC as the enemy—as troublemakers and activists. But by working closely with the government, CJC attempts to show them that it is to their benefit that the community not only knows their rights, but that they exercise them too. “We have tried to engage them, to explain what we do, and let them know we all have a role to play. We’re trying to change the mindset,” says Girland Ndirangu. He adds that they have great relationships with many police officers; they invite them to meetings

Right to left: Girland Ndirangu, Ezekiel Njenga and David Odhiambo (behind Ezekiel and Gilbert Onyango of Peace-Net), sharing a joke from Clive Wanguthi during a community forum.

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 8

David Odhyambu leading an anti-radicalization campaign on the streets of Eastleigh

Global Communities is an international non-profit organization that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable. Development is not something we do for people; it is something we do with them. We believe that the people who understand their needs best are the people of the community itself. Please visit our website at www.globalcommunities.org for more information.

and stay in regular touch with them. Many times someone brings a wrongful lawsuit against an innocent person or files a frivolous claim. The community engagement that CJC builds consistently has resulted in many instances where, once people find out CJC is involved, they drop the case or back off altogether.

By providing support at the community level with like-minded supporters, they hope to give people a voice in improving and sustaining their own communities. In addition to providing legal representation, CJC also forms networks to ensure that people receive additional services they need and to which they are entitled. They work extensively with refugees by linking them with other organizations to provide financial aid and other services.

Paralegal David Odhyambu says he and his colleagues feel an immense responsibility to help people in their time of need. “We like to help somebody who lost hope, or enabled someone to build their career.”

Their job can be a dangerous one. They are often helping people in crime-ridden areas, and the threat of police looms large. Odhyambu has even faced criticism from his parents who say the work puts him on the wrong side of the law, and that he is putting himself in harm’s way. His response: “I better die fighting for justice.”

Kenya Tuna Uwezo: We are the Solution // PROFILES OF PEACE // Global Communities 9