MARSABIT, KENYA – The vast expanse of desert melts into the horizon. A line of camels saunters under the slanting afternoon light while low-lying shrubs dance lightly in the breeze. Northern Kenya is considered a frontier, where the influence of the West is not nearly as saturating as cosmopolitan Nairobi.

But the area is also host to a history of inter-ethnic conflict, turned violent with the access to automatic weapons. Livestock raids are resulting in deaths, and a cycle of revenge killings has emerged.

Northern Kenya is home to a mix of tribes including the Rendille and Borana, who have traditionally been pastoralists, or livestock herders. These nomadic people rely on access to pasture and water for the survival of their livestock – and these resources are scarce.

The conflicts center around competition over these valuable resources and are heightened by things like cattle rustling, the wide availability of small arms, land issues, and increasing levels of poverty.

The result of these conflicts? The loss of human life and personal property, the displacements of large segments of communities, the disruption of socio-economic activities and livelihoods, environmental degradation, and increased levels of malnutrition among displaced groups.

The delicate dynamics between these groups can easily be triggered to violence, or, potentially, nurtured towards reconciliation. FH conducts peace-building trainings for the Rendille and Borana ethnic communities in the Laisamis division of Marsabit district, Kenya, focusing on conflict management, analyzing the causes of tension, discussing the benefits of cooperation between communities and exploring ways to reduce conflict.

These trainings allow for a platform of rapport to develop between people, and hopefully, the beginnings of trust. At the end of one training selected members formed a committee, which was tasked to visit both communities and guide discussions about livestock that had been stolen. An agreement was made, 47 stolen animals were returned, and the potential raid that could have happened, didn’t.

Since this training these two communities have returned stolen livestock without FH initiative seven times. And peace has remained. The steps are small, but the steps are real. Peace. From War.