An agenda for peace . . .

Although Kenya has enjoyed a reputation as a stable democracy, the East African nation is facing urgent social and environmental challenges. Nairobi now has some of the largest slums in Africa; inadequate infrastructure for the city’s growing population has led to environmental contamination and shortages of safe water; and the disputed 2007 presidential election led to the worst ethnic unrest since Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963.

A call to service

The arrival of the Global Peace Festival (GPF) in 2008 and International Young Leaders Summit in Nairobi a year later helped to foster a mood of volunteerism and national pride, with thousands of Kenyans coming forward to volunteer during the GPF-sponsored cleanup of the Nairobi River.

The GPF and related service projects won broad-based support in Kenya, including the Office of the Prime Minister, media, business, and local nongovernmental organizations, and presented a unique opportunity to advance a multi-sector service corps as a model for peace building.

“This is an important day for Kenya and for Africa. . . . We long for the day when our nation can again be proud of this river, which could provide water to millions.”
                                               —Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga at the 2008 Global Peace Festival

The Global Peace Festival Foundation thus began a grassroots effort to engage youth and implement a comprehensive, service-based approach to building a peaceful and prosperous Kenya. Key allies have recognized the strategic value of collaboration and sharing best practices, and are now implementing a series of development projects in Nairobi and in the Rift Valley.