4th Quarterly Report, April – June 2016: Peaceful Empowerment in Arid Lands

The program's activities were implemented in an increasingly electioneering mood, with political party realignments within the two counties and calls for electoral body reforms. During the reporting quarter, PEARL capitalized on political goodwill from leaders from both counties to implement its activities. The program worked with politicians to resolve conflicts, including a dispute over water sources pitting farmers and pastoralists in Nakwamoru and Katilu areas in Turkana County. PEARL also conducted three joint trainings with Turkana and West Pokot communities, training 108 peace committee members on negotiation, mediation, and peace-building skills. The trainings led to the creation of two peace networks, one from each county, who currently implement peace-building activities together. PEARL continued facilitating activities of the West Pokot Peace Task Force, which is working towards the establishment of the West Pokot Peace Directorate. The county government remained committed to the initiative and employed two staff to work for the Directorate, a County Peace Coordinator and a County Disaster Management Officer. The program also made great strides in bolstering the Early Warning Early Response (EWER) system. A consultative meeting was held to establish a EWER hub for Turkana County in Lodwar, with several partners making commitments to realize the establishment of the hub. The program will provide basic equipment needed to set up the hub, including computers and related IT accessories. Furthermore, PEARL Program Manager attended a Kenya and Uganda Cross Border CPMR Cluster One Platform Meeting held in Eldoret, which brought together Conflict Early Warning and Response Units (CEWERU) representatives from the grassroots and national levels of Kenya and Uganda, as well as representatives from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The quarter also saw the implementation of a two-day County Officials Exchange Program through local partners, which generated recommendations to end the protracted conflict. In partnership with Finnish Church Aid, Kenya Red Cross, and Turkana Women Peace Initiative, Mercy Corps supported a Pokot-Turkana Women Peace Forum, coordinated by the national government, held in Kainuk. Five hundred women from the conflict-prone border attended the event, with leaders promising to encourage trade and intercommunity exchange visits to improve familiarity and reduce conflicts. During the quarter, PEARL reached 764 people through four intra-community dialogues in Kotaruk and Nakuse in Turkana County and Wasat and Chesegon in West Pokot County. The three intra-community dialogues led to the creation of three peace committees in the respective areas, which witnessed efforts in quelling tension and conflict. The key mediators in the disputes were community peace committee and District Peace Committee members who have been trained on mediation and negotiation under the PEARL program. Building on key resource areas along the Turkana-West Pokot border identified by communities during the dialogue, Mercy Corps, TUPADO, and West Pokot CBF conducted an exercise aimed at identifying projects in need of rehabilitation along the West Pokot and Turkana counties' border. The exercise was informed by proposals from the two communities in previous intracommunity dialogues. The program's activities have contributed to increased stability in the region, with a decrease in reported disputes and conflicts. The creation of peace committees and networks has also enhanced community-led peace-building efforts. The establishment of the West Pokot Peace Directorate and the EWER hub for Turkana County are expected to further strengthen peace-building mechanisms in the region.