January 23, 2008

Imagine the day: You wake up in the small, rural home you share with your aunt. You vote in the election everyone has been so hopeful about, the election that will bring much-anticipated change. You hop on a bus and take the long, bumpy drive that will take you to the big city, to the plane that will take you to another country for a year. As you arrive at the airport, you sense the mood has changed to one of anxiety: there are no election results yet and the delay cannot be explained. You climb on the plane and fly halfway around the world, far from the warm life you have known on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, to the heart of snowy Canada. When you arrive, you find out that your beloved country has shockingly erupted in post-election violence. Part of you longs to go home and part of you has never been more convinced that you are in precisely the right place.

Such was the experience of Rose Ong’ech. A 26-year old community worker who coordinates one of programs of the Ugunja Community Resource Centre in western Kenya, Rose arrived in Canada at the end of December to study for a year in the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Conrad Grebel University College.

Learning about peace and methods of conflict resolution has never been more urgent or important to Rose.

“The PACS Diploma Program will allow me to build on my conflict resolution skills and bring this back to the community in Ugunja and Kenya now that Peace is most needed,” says Rose, who learned that friends of hers had been shot and killed in the violence.

Rose learned about the Peace and Conflict Studies when she visited Canada as part of an exchange program with Kitchener’s The Working Centre in the fall of 2007. Sponsored by The Working Centre which partners with Ugunja in Kenya, Rose believes her studies will be of value to her in her work with women’s advocacy and in the coordination of the other sixteen community resource centres working with Ugunja..

“Many women in Kenya struggle with having their land taken by relatives, or with physical abuse,” she says. “I want to learn skills in conflict resolution that will help me to help women develop the skills they need to respond to these problems.”

Rose also hopes her year in Canada will deepen the partnership between Ugunja and The Working Centre and also develop links with the community of Kitchener-Waterloo.

Lowell Ewert, Director of Peace and Conflict Studies at Grebel says, “It is a delight to have Rose as a student in class.  Her lived experiences add a level of depth, maturity and consequences to discussions that may otherwise remain theoretical.  Her passion and commitment to peace is an inspiration to all.”  

Ugunja Community Resource Centre (ugunja.org) is a community based non-governmental organization located in western Kenya. It is one of few NGOs headquartered in a rural part of Kenya and serves a widely dispersed population of 500,000 people. UCRC, coordinates many innovative activities in collaboration with local communities, community based organizations as well as national and international NGOs.  Founded in 1988 as an informal farmers' group, UCRC works towards a community where women, men, youth, children, people with disabilities, people living positively with HIV/AIDS are all given space that can lead to them being empowered. UCRC provides access to useful information, knowledge and skill, encourages unity among community groups, and creates opportunities for networking and partnerships in the community.

Rose is adjusting to life in Canada. “It feels different to be miles away from home, especially when things like weather, food, roads and others are different. When I say I am freezing, I am told ‘Rose, this is nothing. This is just a sneeze of cold. Wait until you see real winter!’ so I am looking forward to summer. All the same, I am optimistic that Grebel will be another home away from home since people around Grebel are and have been friendly even for the few days I have been here.”