Amani Kibera Community Based Organization

Amani Kibera (AK) is a Peace Building oriented organization legally registered in Kenya in the year 2010 as a CBO. AK started as a Peace week forum dubbed ‘Amani Kibera’ a Swahili translation of Peace in Kibera. This forum was a culmination of the tense and divisive pre 2007 general election campaigns in Kibera and thereafter, the setting up of an informal working group that worked as an intervention during the serious post-election violence that marred most parts of Kenya following the disputed Presidential election of the same year. With ethnic and political differences among residents, Kibera was a real hotspot with very little access by the intervention of law enforcers. In an endeavor to reconcile the worrying communities and together find a lasting solution to peace, 4 founding members sharing the same concern picked up the initiative and drew other few friends to form a team of concerned residents. It is worth noting that their efforts and voices were heard, with huge numbers of residents rallying behind the peace building idea. From a mere forum to a formally registered organization, Amani Kibera, now a formally registered entity, boasts of 15 years of active community presence, implementing projects of human development in Kibera and other informal settlements in Nairobi. Amani Kibera continues with dedication and involvement in the running and imparting of knowledge to the disadvantaged segment of the Kibera slum, especially women, youth and children in Kibera. The organization aims to promote peaceful coexistence among communities through partnering with recognized local institutions that have traditional/modern role in resolving conflict and re-establishment of working with government structures while enhancing local capacities to deal with possible conflict through joint community practices. AK has started a reflection process of ascertaining her development journey and identifying her best formation to adequately confront existing problems and needs.