1. Posted on Thursday 31 January 2008 - 00:32

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   Andrius

   

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   Rachel Wambui Kungu +254 721 626 389 is back in Nairobi, Kenya after a day that transformed the name Mungikis from a curse to a blessing. Her team met with key leaders of the Mungikis in Naivasha. They have given their names and phone numbers to participate in the Pyramid of Peace and to engage the violent Mungikis who have moved onward to Nairobi. They agreed to remove the road blocks for the next seven days. They will organize a large meeting in two days or so to meet with leaders from the Catholic church and with the local head of the police. Afterwards, they wish to meet with the Kalenjins for dialogue. They are ready for a permanent peace upon three reasonable conditions: 1) that Kalenjins and others stop fighting and free the roads as well, 2) that the opposition leaders tell their people to stop fighting, 3) that the youth be involved in the decisions affecting them.
   
   Wesley Chirchir Chebii +254 722 992 107 returned this morning to Eldoret where he drafted a message for a press conference given by Kalenjin elders who talked effectively on radio stations ("kiss" and "eesee"?) Wesley will go tomorrow to the Kalenjin roadblocks at Iten. He is well prepared to build on the momentous victory by Rachel and her team.
   
   I invite us all to transform ourselves into blessings and support our efforts:
   * pray to God (more miracles!) and/or send us your love
   * share your thoughts with those around you
   * highlight our work, point to http://www.pyramidofpeace.net
   * chat with us at http://www.worknets.org/chat/ to help orient newcomers there
   * join one of our working groups where you can read our letters http://www.ms.lt/news.php, write about your own interests and learn how they connect with those in Kenya and elsewhere
   * call Kenyans listed at http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?HelpKenyans to encourage them, share their news, inform them, get to know them; send them text messages
   * purchase cell phone airtime for Kenyans which they can share or barter, try https://www.kikwe.com or http://www.mamamikes.com
   * learn how to use our online tools, including our wiki, to help move Kenyans' reports from letters to wiki pages and then to journalists and bloggers; we're dedicating Thursday, January 31 for such training so join us at our chat room http://www.worknets.org/chat/
   * be a buddy for a Kenyan to keep in touch and let us know what needs they may have http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?Kenyans
   * donate money by PayPal to ms@ms.lt or through the link at http://www.pyramidofpeace.net
   * donate money by credit card to CAWD through the link at https://www.bmycharity.com/cawd
   * wire 10,000 USD to Minciu Sodas or directly to our Kenyan team, contact me at ms@ms.lt or +370 699 30003 for details
   * be a friendly customer and fund work starting at $100 for one-month part-time work to $300,000 and up for a team of 1,000... imagine the value!
   
   Rachel and her team of Kikuyu peacemakers from Nairobi arrived in Naivasha at 11:30 am by public transportation. The morning was tense, but all went well in Naivasha. Their local contacts told the women not to wear their jeans, but rather to buy some scarfs and kangas (dresses), which they did. This is so that they would not be confused with men from a distance, and not be perceived as a threat. Soon they were talking with the local youth, and afterwards with the real Mungikis, a clique known for their violentness. They had a very productive conversation as I described above. They spoke with more than thirty people, many of whom were key Mungiki leaders, and received excellent cooperation. They agreed that they would each speak further with five or ten people and invite them all for the great public meeting they will organize in the next two days along with Rachel and her team. They do not want to deal yet with the police in the area because they accuse them of much harm to their people, including their women, but at the meeting they will invite the local head of the police. They have confirmed their intent by providing their names and numbers to post publicly in our Pyramid of Peace.
   
   Should the seven day calm hold, they are very keen to work for peace. They want education on how the youth of different tribes can live together. They will engage those who have been displaced and give them hope that they may come back and live in harmony. They ask for counseling for their trauma. They wish for economic development so they might start their own businesses, for unemployed they are vulnerable to recruitment as thugs.
   
   Donations are very helpful now because Rachel's team and others in our Pyramid of Peace can buy airtime which the Naivasha Mungikis agree is not to call their friends, but rather to engage the violent Mungikis who have moved on to Nairobi. Certainly, they can be that much more effective if they have their own cell phones ($100 each) rather than using their mother's. Likewise, Rachel needs a laptop (new $800 or used $500) so that she can write reports. A newspaper advertisement declaring the agreement would have national impact for a few hundred dollars. Our giving hearts will bind us together in ways that can't be undone.
   
   Dennis Kimambo +254 722 388 275 and I spoke today about his work in Nakuru. He organized police escort for a large group of residents (I think Lou) to leave for other parts of the country, which at this time gives hope and diminishes tensions.
   
   Our priority now is to cement a great victory by Rachel and her time (which I think included Kennedy Owino +254 723 568 251 and David Mutua +254 720 462 559). We can call, we can talk, we can give, we can donate. We can accept the challenge to encourage the Kalenjins and Lous and others to free the roads as well and celebrate the calm. We can reestablish Nakuru as a haven for dialogue. We might also verify the respect for travelers by sending travelers. Rachel told how they made great progress by riding motorbikes, which made it easy for them to speak to the road blockers, as opposed to driving in cars. What a telling illustration of the maxim "Be vulnerable". By allowing for a little hurt, we can know who is truly hurtful.
   
   Looking ahead, I think the root cause of the violence is coming to light. We have seen the Kikuyu brutality move, as if it had no roots, first to Nakuru, then to Naivasha, and now to Nairobi. It is as if they and, I think, their fellow killers from other tribes are hunting for the sorest spot where their fight might fuel a national conflagaration. They have caused much grief, yet the outrage is restrained. The fight is winding down rather than flaring up. The violent Mungiki are now upon Nairobi, where they are feared, but they have no real support, and they will prove themselves weak. I suspect a second reason for why they come to Nairobi is that they are going to their protectors, I can imagine in parts of the government (not all but parts of the police are rotten, as was clear in Naivasha), but also in the ruling party (in which I can imagine there are links to the attack on Nakuru) and the opposition party (in which I can imagine there are links to the massacre at Eldoret). The violence has proved itself absent as it has danced around the country, and there is one place left to look, where I would not be surprised to find it, and that is among the powers, those leaders who play with tribal militias. My charges are grave, and I hope unfounded, but I think that with our love for the Mungiki in Nairobi we can win their help to engage even the powerful, the sinister and the wicked with our Pyramid of Peace. I ask for our reflections. I will listen to our leaders in Kenya. I embolden us. We can love our enemy to clear our past and free our future.
   
   I plan to send more money to Rachel and perhaps others tomorrow morning, and every day after, as available.
   
   Thank you from Kenyans to the entire world. Thank you for urging action, comforting, suggesting, hoping, articulating, encouraging, wondering and holding hands. Thank you, Janet, Pamela, Agnese, Meadowlea, Joy, Asif, Ricardo, Sasha, Benoit, Fred, Kiyavilo, Josephat, Prosper, Primson, William, Steve, Samuel, John, Markus, Jeff, Eluned, Cass, Jerry and all!
   
   Rachel acknowledged my work, too. I was very happy because I believe that we are all involved. I am amazed that I can accept one heart's concern and make it my own and bring it to another and have them take it. I am delighted that I can absorb many thoughts and think up my own and have others hear them and make them true. I am assured by a culture that indeed all things are possible. I am fulfilled by leaders who take the lead as they hear life's call, Samwel Kongere +254 725 600 439, Kennedy Owino +254 723 568 251, Dennis Kimambo +254 722 388 275, Collins Odour +254 721 637 457, Emmanuel Were +254 721 938 340, Patrick Bunyali Kamoyani +254 721 612 607, Ron Odhiambo +254 722 240 088, Lawrence Achami +254 720 613 379, Rono Richards +254 723 732 617, Wesley Chirchir +254 722 992 107, Tom Ochuka +254 725 678 64, David Mutua +254 720 462 559, Rachel Wambui Kungu +254 721 626 389. I am extended by the many new friends we have found. Welcome!
   
   Kenya is a rennaisance. We are learning lessons that surely can apply the world over in much harder battles with apathy, with lethargy, with helplessness, with negativity. We can transform ourselves just as we are transforming our world.
   
   A special acknowledgement to Eluned Hurn of Wales, our warrior queen, whose deepest value "fighting peacefully" is a shade of love that reaches even the most turbulent heart.
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fightingpeacefully/
   
   Thank you all!
   
   Andrius
   
   Andrius Kulikauskas
   Minciu Sodas
   http://www.ms.lt
   ms@ms.lt
   +370 699 30003
   Vilnius, Lithuania

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Reactions

1. Posted on Thursday 31 January 2008 19:29

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   Dipesh

   

   Dipesh Pabari
   65 berichten
   Lid sinds September 2007

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   Great to have all these contacts. I will most certainly add these to the various facebook campaigns. I also started a blog to fundraise for victims in Kisumu which has an online payment facility. Please check out Sukuma Kenya

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   Dipesh Pabari

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