Political speeches and friendly tug-o-war highlight Peace Day in Kenya

More than 1,000 people attended Mercy Corps-sponsored Peace Day events in Eldoret, Kenya. Photo: Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps celebrated the International Day of Peace in Eldoret, Kenya on September 24. This date was chosen to allow participation of the Muslim community who were celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, (Id Ul Fitr) on September 21. This event was linked to LEAP sports programme organized by Mercy Corps and African Sports and Talents for Change (A-STEP).

The event was attended by Eldoret West District Commissioner Mr. Ngaluma as guest of honour, the Mayor of Eldoret town, Mr. Samwel Rono, District Officers, various heads of government departments in the district, civic councillors, church leaders, civil society representatives, chiefs, and the local business community. The key events were sports activities, a peace match, and theatre presentations. The games attracted crowds of close to 1,000 people. These games were graced by several media houses among them KBC, Royal Media, Fish FM, and Kass FM.

The games formed the major component of the celebration, with football proving particularly popular. Key happenings included:

• Sharing of the peace curriculum developed by Mercy Corps as part of the LEAP sports programme
• Football competition (female and male teams)
• Dissemination of peace messages through leaflets, brochures and posters
• Artistic performances (drama, song and music)
• Speeches by government officials, politicians, civil society representatives, community leaders, and members from the business community

The event provided the space for peace actors to meet with Mercy Corps’ sports teams and government officials, the local community, and with leaders on issues of conflict and peace. The youth noted that in every conflict in Kenya, young people suffer most and benefit least.

Here are the activities we held:

Peace March
The march was flagged off by the Soi Division District Officer Mr. Ahmed. All the LEAP SPORT teams were well represented in the march with over 138 coaches and team leaders present, including 460 youths from various teams. Other participants in the march included government officials, members from the local business community, notably the Asians, IOM, UN-OCHA, Red Cross and several local NGOs and CBOs. Many more members of the public joined the march along the way to the venue of the celebrations causing a huge traffic jam along the Eldoret-Uganda road. A-STEP theatre group took the opportunity to announce peace messages through their songs and chants. The 2km walk ended at the Huruma playgrounds, the venue of the celebration.

Demonstration of the LEAP Programme Curriculum
Immediately after the March for Peace, all the LEAP Sport participants assembled together for the discussion on how the peace curriculum is helping them rebuild relationship broken during the post election violence in the community. The discussion was led by A-STEP events officer Andrew Makhanu. Later, Huruma youth ladies and men teams gave a demonstration on the topic Managing Emotions — a key subject of the LEAP programme curriculum.

Under 25s Men and Women’s Football Tournament
Thirteen teams of under 25 year olds participated in the tournament (8 men’s and 5 ladies’ teams). With a running theme of “AMANI IDUMU KENYA-One Day One Goal” the games were played in the true spirit of building alliances across ethnicities in the sometimes turbulent district. The games began with Mr. Fetha, Eldoret District Officer kicking up the ball after addressing the players and spectators. The District Officer advised the youth to make good use of the LEAP SPORT Program, assuring them that the government was fully behind them and would give any support needed. The matches were played in two fields with over 1,000 spectators and fans watching and cheering. Iten FC (men) and Cheptiret FC (women) were the tournament winners.

Theatre Performances
Alongside the sports activities the A-STEP theatre group was given the chance to perform its peace drama. The drama was educative and entertaining with a focus on violence, youth and peacebuilding. The first part of the play, “Let it Not Happen Again,” was a representation of the 2007 post election violence, and the play presented a strong message for peace.

The Mayor of Eldoret Municipality Mr. Rono advised the community to live peacefully and focus on development. He also encouraged the youth to participate in peace activities giving the example of the LEAP SPORT Program. The DC, Mr. Ngaluma’s speech ended the event. In his closing remarks, he observed: “We need to stay as brothers and sisters, living together is the only solution for the development of our economy, we should not depend on political advice that have turned up dividing the communities. The society has the task to advocate for peace right from the family level. As I stand here today I want to say that Mercy Corps together with A-STEP are doing a great work of uniting youth together through sports and engaging them in profitable activities during the weekends. We should all emulate this.”

Tug of War
The tug of war game was between the youth and the elders with the elders looking determined to win right from the beginning. The activity created a lot of excitement, with applause and cheering from all over. With the DC as the mediator, the elders emerged winners, with a youth saying, that for them, “it was a tactical and strategic” loss out of their respect for the elders.

Handover of the Curriculum to the District Commissioner
Upon conclusion of all events, the peace curriculum that the coaches and captains are using in the LEAP SPORT for Change Program, was presented to the Eldoret West District Commissioner, and to other key local peace actors. “LEAP SPORT is not just about playing, but playing for change”, said the Mercy Corps program coordinator. After the handing over of the curriculum, all the senior team coaches and team leaders were given tracksuits to encourage them to work even harder with their teams.

The more than 1,000 persons who marched amidst placards with peace inscriptions, , handbills, and banners, with songs and drum beats, left no doubt about their determination to build a peaceful society. Led by youths affiliated to African Sports and Talents for Change (A-STEP) the various teams in the larger Uasin Gishu were mobilized for the event. Apart from great inspirational speeches given by the various stakeholders and the games and performances, the event provided the district residents with the opportunity to reflect and share ideas on how to uphold peace in their home district.

The DC was later interviewed by the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation (KBC) and various FM stations. In his speech, after giving trophies and presents to the winning teams at the celebration, the DC captured the attention of the excited but attentive crowd by quoting the enduring words of Oscar Arias Sánchez, Costa Rican President and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to define peace. He said of peace: “Even though today some of you have emerged winners in the games we played...peace is not a matter of prices or trophies...it has no finishing line...peace is a never-ending process, but the work of many decisions by many people in many countries...”