I arrived at 06.45 hrs the following morning in Nairobi and spent the next two hours in a horrendous traffic jam on the short distance to the hotel. In the following twenty four hours I attended three different meetings and then I was met by our local co-ordinators, Madame Grace Kauma and Patrick Kavungura. It was great to see them again. I collected the 4wd hire vehicle and off we went on the three and a half hour drive to Madame Grace’s school, Plainsview Academy, Runyenjes where I was to stay for the next two weeks.


Prayer at the start of HIV / AIDS peer educators seminar.

Prior to my arrival at the Academy I had arranged that one of the Peacemakers projects, known as D.A.C.A. (Drugs Awareness Campaign), would finance a four day course from the 14th to the 17th of April inclusive to train twenty four students with myself, Grace and Patrick included in the role of HIV/Aids peer educators. It was very exciting when I was given my copy of the course content that Grace and Patrick had organised – it never fails to impress me how our Kenyan brothers and sisters provide such quality training with limited resources.

The days were long and detailed in input from both trainers and my new fellow students, starting at 8 a.m. and finishing anywhere between 5.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Local dignitaries opened and closed the event and each student was presented with a qualifying certificate by the very high powered Divisional Officer marking the importance of the course in its community based activity.

 
Certificates being awarded.

At the end of the course the students were advised to return to Plainsview on the 24th of May for a full day for submission of their monitoring forms and to discuss and advise them about their first five weeks hands on experiences within their communities. Having completed the course I then spent a number of days visiting some of the Peacemakers projects and also individuals who have received support and training for some time to enable us to observe the progress and re-assess needs for development.


Mwangaza Project, from the left:
Rachael (orphan project co-ordinator) Mercy, Grandmother, Maureen 

A major part of the time on this visit was taken up with visiting the building site upon which Peacemakers-International are erecting a prayer house / refuge / resource centre which has currently reached the foundations stage. Additionally, with the assistance of Madame Grace and Patrick, a Board of Trustees was selected and established. It has been registered at the Attorney General’s Office as a community based organisation (CBO), named as Peacemakers-International, Kenya. To date, the Board of Trustees have held two meetings, voted in their officials and forwarded copies of the minutes of the meetings to us in the U.K.

The most exciting thing about this visit was witnessing the enthusiasm of our Kenyan brothers and sisters to achieve the objectives of the Peacemakers-International Mission Statement. We are moving through an exciting period and I would encourage others to offer their skills and gifts to the work in Kenya – it can be both humbling and inspiring.