Invest in 10 women entrepreneurs in Northern Kenya

This report is being sent to 58 friends who have donated $7,631 to our peacebuilding efforts between tribes in Northwest Kenya since 2022. We thank you!

This project engages women across the neighboring communities in inter-community peace and social economic interactions. It was launched in the summer of 2022 when your donations helped us to develop a network of ten women entrepreneurs from the Samburu and Pokot tribes (WEN) (photo). The initiative has since advanced into a new region and brought together women from the Pokot and Ilchamus tribes. This is reaching not only women, but warriors, elders and community leaders as well.

Through this work over the last six months, CPI Kenya has increased the number and quality of women’s participation in inter-community peace process in the target communities. More women have accompanied children during peace activities across the two communities and taken part in peacebuilding forums with men.

This represents a big change in the two target communities. The project’s strategy is to transform the relationship between two opposing tribes by building friendship between families. This provides a unique approach through which Pokot-Ilchamus women can contribute to inter-community peace among their pastoralist communities.

The project continues to attract increased collaboration from the members of the communities and their leaders. Beneficiaries exhibited a strong desire and readiness to attend all activities which have included workshops on social and economic solutions, community capacity development, village development advocacy, basic rights and peacebuilding.

Our photos show two workshops between the Pokot and Ilchamus, in the villages of Kiserian and Chepkalacha.

We would note other promising developments. The road that links the two communities is still accessible, two years after CPI Kenya organized a Peace Walk to re-open it. Both communities use the road, although Pokot probably make more use of it. Our Peace Walk also led to the opening of other roads in the area that were previously abandoned due to insecurity. One road links the counties of Baringo and Laikipia.

Finally, we express our gratitude to our partners at the World Peace Service (WFD), who have supported our efforts to extend the original WEN model to these new tribes this past year.

On behalf of all the many women who are benefitting we say thank you so much!

Monica and the CPI team in Kenya