The post election violence in Kenya in January 2008 led to the death of over 1,330 persons and the displacement over 350,000 persons (over 70,000 families) across the country. Internationally displaced persons (IDPs) were temporarily settled in church compounds, soccer stadiums, police stations, prison compounds, primary school pitches, agricultural show grounds and even by the road sides. The government of Kenya, NGO’s and members of the private sector initially launched the Operation Rudi Nyumbani I (Operation Go Back Home Phase I), a program through which the government and its partners sought to preach peace among the warring communities so that the displaced families could be facilitated to re-access their farmlands and lead normal productive lives. In doing this the Government of Kenya availed Kshs 35,000 (approximately USD 500) to be given to each and every family that agreed to return to their farmlands. This money was meant to facilitate reconstruction and ease resettlement of the IDPs. Under Operation Rudi Nyumbani I the Government of Kenya resettled over 100,000 persons (20,000 families) who were also facilitated by the NGOs to form community farmers associations in order to cheaply access farm inputs such as seeds and fertilizers. This program ensured that IDPs were able to produce food for subsistence and even for retail purposes thus earning the extra shilling for the families.

Photo credit: Guineanews.org

We don't usually cover issues of foreign policy or international diplomacy on this blog. Yet, lessons from successful social entrepreneurs can often impact or have implications for the approach that governments take to build peace on a global stage.

Ashoka Senior Fellow John Marks, founder of Search for Common Ground recently co-wrote an op-ed in The Chicago Tribune defending US President Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy. One of his key messages, after almost three decades of work in building peace around the world, is that "openness is the key ingredient to finding the highest common denominator" between both sides, and not a weakness as many of Obama's critics claim.

Read the article in full here and read more about Search for Common Ground's innovative approach to peacebuilding here.

Toilets that don’t flush. Showers without water.

Those aren’t things one would think are hindering peace and stability. After all, it seems implausible that something so small could be a piece of the complex puzzle that is war.

Yet in Guinea-Bissau, a small West African country The BEFORE Project is currently working in, this is an indication of something much larger: the relationship between the government and the military.  Throughout Guinea-Bissau’s 35-year history, the military has played a key role in the civilian governance. Unfortunately, this role was not always conducive to civil society development as action sometimes came in the form of military over-throws of civilian governments.