FPFK Peace Resilience program

FPFK Peace Resilience program is supported by Norwegian Pentecostal Mission (NPM)under the auspices of FPFK Church through social Ministry department. The dual program is clustered into Muhoroni and Kilgoris Projects. Muhoroni Project covers Kisumu, Kericho and Nandi Counties while Kilgoris one covers Kisii, Narok and Migori counties respectively.

Last year 2024, the project completed its first full year of implementation, with efforts focused on achieving planned outcomes through scheduled activities. Key approaches used in the year 2024 were; dialogues, strengthening the early warning early response system, engaging women and youth for peace, conducting games for peace and collaboration with state, peace partners and community agents to foster peace in all the project target areas.

Outcome 1; “Communities respecting ethnic diversity by accepting each other’s identities, sharing resources, services, and opportuni- ties without discrimination”, the project successfully conducted Community dialogues in both Kilgoris and Muhoroni, with a high turnout and active participation from various target community members. The discussions were centered around conflict resolu- tion and trust-building. This was one of the most effective approaches in reaching out to the target communities.

Resistance from certain groups due to historical grievances and perceived injustices required additional trust-building efforts, which adjusted the timeline of planned activities i.e. a lot of time was spent bridging the gap between the communities and the government through collaboration with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), who were one of the key partners

A case study was the Sondu border conflict, which had been a thorn in the flesh to the neighboring communities, peace civil society organizations and the security; the FPFK Peace Resilience project in this season reached out and partnered with both the (NCIC) and Pamoja for Transformation Trust to jointly address the insecurity and conflicts within the area. through collaboration. Three partners organized a joint meeting between the Governors and Members of County Assembly of Kisumu and Kericho respec- tively to chat the path of peace for Sondu border. The caucus culminated into a peace agreement document signed by both the Governors dubbed “KENDU BAY DECLARATION”. The authentic document bound the County leaders to uphold the letter and spirit of the agreement by not only championing but also taking deliber- ate action of implementing the content of the agreement to ensure a lasting peace at the Sondu border is attainable.

As a way of achieving results for the project outcome number 2 of Community leaders and state actors use structures and mechanisms to address existing and emerging conflicts, the project organized and conducted trainings targeting different community leaders in the project target areas. So far, these leaders have been trained in conflict resolution and mediation techniques, with notable improvements in their capacity to address disputes. For instance, engagement of women as key actors in peace building and conflict management through the project activities such as women for peace in conflict management training, the women were capacity built to influence positive change in the border communities within Muhoroni cluster. This was displayed when Luo and Kipsigis women Peace champions trained by FPFK Muhoroni peace project, boldly came out and deflated a potential conflict, which was stirring up at the common border of Koguta (Luo) and Koitaburot (Kipsigis) due to the alleged suspect murder of a Kipsigis by a Luo.

Through the early warning early response system framework, collaboration with local stakeholders and the security teams have significant- ly improved with 80% of the designated monitoring zones fully operational. Alerts and timely interventions have helped to curb potential conflicts. The use of this system has also led to the reduction of cattle theft witnessed through recoveries of the stolen stock. Furthermore, early warning, early response system has been instrumental in preventing violent escalations along the porous borders. A recent scenario involved de-escalating tensions over farmland disputes, highlighting the project’s contribution to early interventions i.e. in Kilgoris, the security team acted on the alerts from the system by neutralizing the active conflict, which had been acerbated by the land dispute between Kuria and Kipsigis communities.

In Kilgoris, the project was able to champion establishment of four school peace clubs, which formed 40% of our target school clubs in the region, an initiative which was well received. Through these clubs, the communities have developed an understanding and hunger for peace from the young learners. The clubs also enabled a cooperation in celebrating and commemorating International Day of Children and this has been key in gaining trust and support from the communities.

Engagement of youths and women in sports for peace in conflict management, marshalled a multitude of youths and the general public during sports activities, which provided a rare platform to rally the border communities of Luo and Kalenjins along Kisumu, Nandi and Kericho Counties. Through the interactions, the participants across the divide freely embraced each other, played together, exchanged ideas and pleasantries hence breaking ethnic prejudices and boundaries.

Under the Outcome no 3 of; Survivors and perpetrators healed from traumatic experiences; both Kilgoris and Muhoroni Peace Resilience Projects staff and some selected volunteers joined other FPFK project staff in a trauma healing training held in Nairobi. The training targeted all the projects handling the aspect of Trauma and Counselling in respective projects. Through the Healing Hearts Transforming Nations (HHTN) training, the participants were capacity-built with trauma healing skills to effectively support individuals from conflict-affected communities in recovering from emotional and psychological wounds. The training emphasized the long-term effects of the untreated trauma and equipped participants with skills to lead trauma recovery sessions which they were to apply at the community level.

To achieve the results on Outcome number 4 of; Survivors and vulnerable youths with sustainable alternative livelihood sources, the project was also able to incorporate livelihood training and skill development in the communities and this will develop self-sufficiency and create a stable economy for the project affected areas. The engagement of youths through the activity “vijana for peace” led to bringing on board and reforming 44 youths, who were engaging in cattle theft and cross border conflict related activities. The project-initiated apprenticeship training among these youth groups, which will help them start and pursue descent alternative livelihood activities.

Feedback from participants indicated a notable improvement in trust between communities. For example, trade and social interactions across previously contentious areas have increased by 30%, based on local economic activity records.

Reduction in Conflict Incidents: The project has contributed to a 40% reduction in reported conflicts within targeted communities of Muhoroni areas compared to the baseline.

Increased Community Ownership: There is growing community buy-in, as evidenced by the willingness of both the local leaders and the host community members to take proactive roles in peacebuilding activities.

Throughout that period, continuous assessment follows ups and monitoring by staff and volunteers aided by periodic monitoring ensured that the program activities aligned with outcomes and outputs in the LFA. This was aided by the continuous and periodical monitoring by MERL and Program manager giving pieces of advice and guidance on the better ways and approaches of addressing the emerging issues. This has shown a paradigm shift in attitudes towards peace and conflict resolution. The program made significant progress in building local capacity for peace, promoting inclusivity, empowerment, and dialogue within the targeted communities. The partnership with NCIC and other stakeholders proved vital in achieving sustainable results and strengthening the foundation for long-term peace in the project areas.