The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and the Danish government have formerly signed a two year partnership on peace and reconciliation in the Country. The agreement that follows various consultations between the two sides will see the Danish government provide resources that will enable the Council upscale its peace mission by reaching out to various Kenyan communities living in areas that have witnessed long standing ethnic disputes.
The agreement that follows various consultations between the two sides will see the Danish government provide resources that will enable the Council upscale its peace mission by reaching out to various Kenyan communities living in areas that have witnessed long standing ethnic disputes.
Speaking during the signing ceremony at NCCK’s head office, Danish Ambassador to Kenya his Excellency Geert Aagaard acknowledged NCCK’s role in peace and reconciliation in the Country.
He added that the County Governments will enable Kenyans find a common ground on issues of economic empowerment as they exercise self governance through their executive and legislative functions.
On his part NCCK’s General Secretary Rev. Canon Peter Karanja who is also one of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Goodwill Ambassadors re-affirmed the Council’s commitment to facilitate the building of bridges between communities that have broken relationships which is a precondition for peace and stability in Kenya.
Rev. Karanja said that there was a lot of hope in Kenya owing to the potential unleashed by the County Governments. The peace project dubbed “Pamoja Initiative” is expected to run between August 2013 and September 2015. He noted that through the Pamoja Initiative, communities will identify and address issues of mutual concern that establish common grounds for cooperation and coexistence, collaborate to resolve local disputes through the consistent use of non-violent approaches, implementing joint peace building initiatives; and reducing the use of violence as a means of resolving conflicts.
Also present during the ceremony were NCCK’s Senior Programmes Officer for Governance and Social Services Mr. Chris Kinyanjui and Con Omore of the Danish embassy. The Council’s initiative on peace especially in the Rift-Valley was informed by a report dubbed “Root Causes and Implications of the Post Election Violence of 2007”.
The research was undertaken by NCCK in partnership with other faith-based organizations following the 2007 Post Election Violence. Early this year, a delegation of about 100 elders drawn from various communities living in the Rift- Valley visited Rwanda courtesy of NCCK. The trip was aimed at enabling the delegation that included women and youth to draw vital lessons on the cost of communities’ failure to clarify and resolve disputes which can lead to grievous conflict and destruction.
