Baba Dogo, Kenya: International City of Peace
We welcome Charles Ouma Owino and his colleagues who have established the town of Baba Dogo, Kenya as an International City of Peace. Charles has over 10 years experience working with youths in informal settlements like Baba Dogo and understands their needs, interests and gaps that exists within the community. Having taught high school students in mathematics and business studies (his area of my specialization) and in every school, Charles established a peace club. Being the project coordinator of Focus for Youth and Women Empowerment and now founder of Baba Dogo city of Peace, Charles wants to consolidate his experiences to work with a ministry of youths, gender and cultural heritage to establish a vibrant city of peace for the prosperity of Baba Dogo.
“Baba Dogo and its surrounding areas have more youths compared to adults,” said Charles Ouma Owino. “This youthful energy if not well trained on peace and economic development can be destructive to the community. We are therefore focusing on them as the major component of peace building within their areas of residence. While giving peace information to them we emphasize that peace starts within an individual progressing to the family to society to the nation and trickles to the whole world. Slogan being Together we can make the World PEACEFUL .
“Setting up Baba Dogo City of Peace will be a major boost to this noble course, joining other cities of peace for a common Goal.”
Note: Introduction page with information primarily at the time of joining International Cities of Peace. For updates, please contact the liaison.
VOCATIONAL SKILLS FOR PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT AND SELF RELIANCE
VISION
Participate in community development by focusing on youths and women.
MISSION
Equip youths and women with skills to enable them be self-reliance.
FOCUS FOR YOUTHS AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT is a registered self-help group project in Baba Dogo , east of Nairobi city Kenya. The project was formed and registered on 5th April 2011 with the following objectives:
1. Provide youths and women with vocational skills
2. Liaise with other like-minded organizations to nurture skills of youths and women in Baba Dogo.
3. Provide a platform for youths to share ideas and experiences that leads to individual and community development.
4. Promote mutual and peaceful coexistence of members of the community.
5. Collect and disseminate information relevance to the objectives of the project.
6. Organize seminars and workshops to train youths and women on peace and economic development.
7. Assist members of the community start and run their own economic projects.
8. Identify needy youths and link them up with potential donors to assist.
9. Enact programs that promote peace within the community.
10. Enhance the quality of life of women and youths through identification and promotion of their skills and knowledge.
11. Advocate for up grading of skills that youths already have.
PEACE STATEMENT
Baba Dogo, which is a Kiswahili name meaning a small father, is inhabited by over 20 tribes of Kenya Majority from two tribes Kikuyus and Luos. These two tribes interdependent on each other but are always divided politically resulting into ethnic clashes during elections, People loose lives and properties during these period. There is a great need therefore to foster the culture of peace among these tribes and to establish an indigenous city of peace where people in this community both elderly and young can share and Practice peace. It is important therefore to note that Kikuyus are mostly businessmen who owns majority of the residential houses and supplies the area with most of the foodstuff in addition to offering employment. While rest of the tribes on the other hand are the tenants, source of Market and labor.
With the high poverty index in this area it is always easy to sway and incite youths to cause Violence. Baba Dogo City of Peace therefore is therefore taking a three pillar approach to these problems CULTURE, PEACE AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT. Each tribe has a rich cultural practices that embraces peace and coexistence. We shall therefore engage the elderly from all the tribes in Baba Dogo to share with us these practices. We shall also establish in one room a cultural heritage centre where peace articles from all tribes can be accessed.
CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
URBAN RABBIT REARING AS AN AGRIBUSINESS
TAILORING PROJECT
LETTER OF INTENT
ABOUT THE LIAISON
Charles Ouma Owino attended both primary and secondary education in western Kenya: Mung`Ambwa Primary school and Jera Secondary school. Charles later joined Kenyatta University in Nairobi and received a Bachelor of Education Arts Combination of mathematics and business studies.
Charles started teaching in 2009 In Mathare Upto 2012 then in 2013 transferred to Wajir County in the northern part of Kenya bordering Somalia. Wajir County is a conflict zone but “by forming peace and integrity club enabled me to survive for four years.” In 2017, he came back to Nairobi for community development as a project coordinator for the Focus for Youth and Women Empowerment project.
CONTACT INFORMATION
To contact or support this initiative:
youthsandwomenempowerment@yahoo.com
P.O BOX 12087-00400. TOM MBOYA, NAIROBI. TEL: +254734406816
ABOUT BABA DOGO, KENYA (from Wikipedia)
Dandora is an eastern suburb in Nairobi, Kenya. It is part of the Embakasi division. Surrounding neighbourhoods called estates include Kariobangi, Baba Dogo, Gitare Marigo and Korogocho. Dandora was established in 1977, with partial financing by the World Bank in order to offer a higher standard of housing.
Kenya is a country in Africa with 47 semiautonomous counties governed by elected governors. At 580,367 square kilometres (224,081 sq mi), Kenya is the world’s 48th largest country by total area. With a population of more than 47.6 million people, Kenya is the 29th most populous country.[5] Kenya’s capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest city and first capital is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu City is the third largest city and also an inland port on Lake Victoria. Other important urban centres include Nakuru and Eldoret. As of 2020, Kenya is the third largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa.
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