The peace building champion

Yvonne Akoth is the founder of Impart Change, a peace-building NGO. She is also an Akili Dada Fellow. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • “I am up at 5.30 each morning to watch the news. I need to keep myself abreast with the daily happenings around the world to be able to do my job. Thereafter, I begin my work day. Most days, I work with young men doing informal jobs around the big towns in Kenya.
  • I work with chiefs’ offices to help identify these men. These were my first choice because most times, they are the ones who engage in acts of violence. They are not easy to get through to but I love the challenge.
  • “My agenda with them usually is to change the way they think about violence. I do this by educating them on women’s and human rights. Once they are turned, I send them out to impart the same knowledge on those around them.

“My parents were not the kind to keep their children in a bubble. From an early age, they exposed us to evils happening around the world. I remember watching documentaries about the war in Sierra Leone in the early 1990s and feeling a lot of anger. I was barely 10. Peace building and conflict resolution thus came as a natural career choice.

“The violence that erupted after the last elections strengthened my resolve to weed out violence in the world. Now, every day for me is a fresh chance to work at ensuring that such violence never happens again.

“I am up at 5.30 each morning to watch the news. I need to keep myself abreast with the daily happenings around the world to be able to do my job. Thereafter, I begin my work day. Most days, I work with young men doing informal jobs around the big towns in Kenya. I work with chiefs’ offices to help identify these men. These were my first choice because most times, they are the ones who engage in acts of violence. They are not easy to get through to but I love the challenge.

“I meet them at their places of work. We have different agendas on different meetings. Some days we have focus group discussions, other days we have informal workshops and some weekend sporting events. At the moment, we are planning a football tournament with a group of young men in Nairobi.

“My agenda with them usually is to change the way they think about violence. I do this by educating them on women’s and human rights. Once they are turned, I send them out to impart the same knowledge on those around them.

“The young women already know the dangers that they face so they are easier to talk to. I talk to them about how they can shield themselves should they find themselves in the midst of violence. When I am not meeting this men and women, then I am out in meetings seeking sponsorship or partnership opportunities. Other days, I have online conversations with like-minded people from all around the world.  “Inner peace is just as important as peace on the streets. I unwind by listening to good African music. I used to read to unwind but recently, I have found that the things I read are connected to my work. I read global status reports on violence as well as terrorism reports.

“Ultimately, I dream of a violence free society. At the moment though, I will be content to see the instances of all kinds of violence reduce. I believe I have good ideas. I wish a day will come when I can sit in one of those world committees that come up with peace policies on a global level.”