Peace club members in Penuel Education complex.
Youth peace ambassadors doing community clean-up to promote peace
Beyond Borders Peace Initiative (BBPI)
BBPI seeks to engage school going children and out-of-school youths from diverse ethnic communities in Mathare, Eastleigh and Embakasi to strengthen social cohesion and reduce prevalence of violence and post election chaos. We do this by partnering with primary schools (private and public) and youth groups. The project targets children aged 10-14 for the school program (peace clubs) and youths aged 20-35 years in youth groups.
School Peace Clubs
The project establishes model peace clubs in schools to enable children and teenagers to learn to recognize conflict and use non-violent ways to resolve it.
BBPI Project Officers give Peace Club members in schools are story books to improve their language skills. At the end of the year they also award them with a certificate of participation, which encourages them to remain in the club.
Peace clubs also provide space for children and teenagers to communicate and share freely with their peers, teachers, and school heads more openly for action to be taken by the authorities and for them to assert their rights.
We also engage teachers and parents through trainings so that they can be able to strengthen and support the peace building skills that their children have learnt at school and at home.
The schools we work with
Mathare Menno kids Academy in Mathare sub-county.
Neci Education Center in Mathare Sub-county.
Penuel Education Complex school in Kamukunji Sub-county.
Golden Bells Academy in mathare Sub-county
Mukuru Menno Academy in Embakasi South Sub-county.
Why Peace Clubs
To reduce cases of absenteeism, theft, fights and violence among the students.
To enable children and teenagers learn to recognize conflict and use non-violent ways to resolve it.
To provide space for children and teenagers to communicate and share freely with their peers teachers and school heads more openly.
To train parents and teachers on alternatives of corporal punishment which would result to an improved relationship between parents and their children.
To ensure that students are taught skills and encouraged to learn how to create right and healthy relationships and share their struggles and issues they are experiencing in a friendly environment.
To create awareness and need for commemoration of World Peace Day.
Youth groups peace ambassadors (20-35 years)
Youth groups we work with
Madoya Tumaini Youth Group is a CBO in Mathare Sub-county. It mainly focuses on water vending, car washing and garbage collection.
Viwandani Comprehensive Community Organization (VICCO) is a registered CBO in Makadara Sub-county. It does urban farming, garbage collection and Village saving and lending activities.
Hustlers Youth Group is based in Eastleigh, Kamukunji Sub-county. Its main activities are car washing, water vending and car tyre repair.
Harlem Youth Group is in Mathare Sub-county and mainly does Urban farming, Garbage collection and riverbanks rehabilitation.
Other Youth groups Activities
Youth Workshop
Presence of peace or absence of it has a strong connection with social and political injustices such as post election violence, poverty, homelessness, discrimination(ethnicity and sexism). The project engages youths to equip them with the skills and tools they need to impact others in positive ways.
Sports Activities
This activity brings together youths from diverse backgrounds. In between matches, facilitators talk about different issues and their relation to peacebuilding and conflict transformation in a youth context. These include religion, ethnic diversity, radicalization, drug abuse and violence.
Youth Exchange Activities
Occasionally, youth exchange activities are organised to bring together the different youth groups to share about their different experiences in life, and the activities they engage in for economic empowerment, peace building and conflict transformation. They learn from each other the different ways to handle challenges they face daily in their task of building and nurturing peace in their communities.