Peacemaker moulded in hell

• Girl abandoned at 11 to take care of little brother and sister founds the Peace Caravan.
• VYP linked refugees with youth and peace groups in their home countries to share ideas to prepare them for repatriation and re-integration

Rachel sat with them, looking for a middle ground and promising to communicate their versions of grievances to the authorities.

On January 28, at the height of the conflict, youth blocked the Nakuru-Nairobi highway in Naivasha, terrorising commuters to retaliate the killings in the North Rift.

Rachel decided against everyone else’s better judgment to meet them and seek a peaceful resolution to the escalating crisis.

As soon as she got to Naivasha, she bought a long skirt before meeting the youth. They were conservative and frowned upon women who wore trousers.

Rachel and her team spent a day in Naivasha calling for non-violence. The highway was unblocked that evening.

A meeting between chief mediator Kofi Annan and youth representatives was a landmark because in the past the youth were always sidelined by leaders.

Rachel was the youth convener at the meeting where they presented Dr Annan with a “Youth Position Paper”.

The theme of the Peace Camel Caravan this year is Brotherhood in Peace Forever.