Rivers of Peace

The Rivers of Peace initiative began in Kenya  in August 2008, with the Global Peace Festival Foundation-Kenya (GPFF) launch of a major cleanup of the endangered Nairobi River. Over the last two years, with the participation of schools, community organizations, and the local government, the cleanup grew to become the largest voluntary river restoration in Kenya.

On 28 June, 2010, the project entered a new phase when Prime Minister Raila Odinga kicked off a major restoration of the Nairobi Dam, which will take place over the next two years.  The dam’s reservoir was originally created to serve as an emergency water supply for the city, but today the water is polluted by the waste from the Kibera slum, home to about 800,000 people. Water hyacinth thrives on the polluted water and now covers almost the entire surface, choking the dam. The project got started with hyacinth removal done by hundreds of volunteer groups and over 3,000 youth volunteers from around the country.

The Rivers of Peace initiative has now also been launched in Nepal. The Bagmati River runs through the Kathmandu Valley and is one of Nepal’s holy rivers. But the waters of the sacred river have been heavily polluted through agricultural, industrial, and residential waste. In September, as part of the Global Peace Festival South Asia 2010, thousands of volunteers rolled up their sleeves and started dredging debris from the Bagmati River. The launch inspired hope and commitment among community organizations, youth groups and local citizens to finally marshal a concerted ongoing effort to reclaim the Bagmati.

Tree Planting and Reforestation Projects

In many developing nations, the lack of effective natural resources management has led to deforestation and consequent environmental problems. GPFF Kenya and its partners are planning to plant one million trees, thereby encouraging concerned Kenyans from all walks of life to take small but concrete steps to address their country’s environmental problems.  In Paraguay, the Global Peace Foundation chapter there is working in partnership with A Todo Pulmon and other organizations to provide logistical support and volunteers in a campaign to plant 10,000 trees in Asuncion.