All of last week, I helped with the organization of the Youth Peace Summit Kenya 2009. It was an interfaith gathering of about two hundred youth sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and hosted by the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church. Participants were mainly Kenyans, but they were joined by others from Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and DRC. The event blog can be found at http://peacesummit2009.wordpress.com. Under the theme “Embrace Peace, Fulfil Dreams,” the youth ranging in age from fourteen to thirty gathered to discuss the role of youth in violence and peacemaking. Following the disputed elections at the end of 2007, Kenya erupted into violence. Many youth were used to perpetuate the violence, partly due to their lack of income and idleness caused by extremely high unemployment rates. The Summit addressed peacemaking ideals and strategies as well as practical information about writing business plans and income generating activities. To close the week, the youth planted one hundred trees to help with reforestation and led a peace walk down Ngong Road. A peer review team was selected from the participants that will serve to evaluate project proposals and distribute funding to small groups to empower them.
On a personal note, it was great to get out of the office. I helped with the schedule, registration, nametags, and travel reimbursements leading up to and throughout the week. Interacting with the youth and the other organizers was a nice change of pace from my office job, which has become fairly lonely lately. This week reminded me how much I enjoy organizing such events and watching them play out. Hopefully other such projects will arise.
Grace and peace to you all.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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