Resource
Five years of success in Kenya
By supporting campaigners as they pursue nonviolent social change, we have seen great changes in Kenyan communities.
Our impact
Young people who want to make changes in their communities are learning how to speak out loudly and strongly, but without violence. Turning the Tide Kenya help people find the courage to address root causes of their conflicts, rather than only dealing with the symptoms.
Using the campaigning skills we teach,
- students have exposed corrupt bursary disbursement practices at a University
- motorcycle taxi drivers have put a stop to fraudulent registration scams
- community members stopped the construction of a dam set to displace an estimated 50,000 people.
In the wake of Kenya's 2007 elections, East Africa's most stable democracy erupted into violence. In the run-up to the election in 2013 and 2017, our partners Alternatives to Violence Kenya Trust launched civic engagement campaigns to promote peaceful elections and offer voting rights education. Kenyan peace activists organised forums in which civilians found a safe space to ask political candidates critical questions. Read about current work in Kenya on the Quakers in Britain blog.
Our partners recognise that while trauma recovery, mediation, and conflict resolution are crucial, the success of these initiatives will be limited while legitimate grievances about governance, corruption and basic rights remain unaddressed.
How we work
- Our work is built on authentic partnership which springs from the Quaker understanding of equality.
- Our methodology is adapted from Quaker social change training to develop nonviolent campaigning skills specific to Kenya.
- We use responsive training and ongoing accompaniment to ensure the training takes root.
- We nurture community ownership and ensure that every campaign is locally driven.
- We go where the energy is and start small.
Our guiding principles
We believe that:
- Much direct violence is derived from underlying and often invisible social injustice. In order to build peace we must be willing to make visible and challenge structural and cultural violence.
- There is something good in every person, even those who are perpetuating social injustices. Effective nonviolent action seeks that good and calls it out.
- Nonviolence requires risk, self-discipline and a deep commitment. It must come from deep within. It will never work when it is imposed from without.
Learn more
Read Betty Atieno's reflections on 6 years working towards peace as a TTT activist in Kenya.
Listen to the Q:Witness podcast featuring former Programme Manager Laura talking about the work we do in Kenya:
Listen to interviews with African peace activists, undertaken for This Light That Pushes Me, an photography exhibition and book created by Quaker Peace & Social Witness.
Read about the water campaign in Nairobi