Shalom’s efforts in contributing towards peace in Turkana County have been steadily achieving great milestones in bringing concerned community members together in discussing the way forward for peace. One such effort was recently accomplished in Lokori , Turkana East where SCCRR conducted a workshop on Conflict Early Warning Signs and Early Response. The workshop in Lokori which took place on 13th and 14th September 2014 was a clear indication of the value that communities attach to the trainings that are conducted by SCCRR in conflict environments.
The presence of the wide array of opinion shapers ranging from Members of County Assembly, Chiefs, Religious leaders, Village Elders among others was a clear proof of the importance that communities in the conflict zones are attaching to SCCRR interventions in seeking a permanent positive peace in the larger Turkana East. Moreover, people defied all odds including the extreme state of insecurity that was being experienced on the roads just to ensure that they attended the workshop to acquire skills for conflict resolution at a time when there were growing tensions between the Pokot and the Turkana communities.
The interethnic clashes between the Pokot and the Turkana have left trails of death, displacement and wanton destruction of property along the border between the two communities in South Eastern Turkana. Furthermore, tension was building up with numerous alarms that even more attacks were sched- uled to take place in the wider Turkana East. Because of this reality, the participants who were largely the Turkana were concerned about what could be done in order to contain the escalation of the violence and even its spillover effects on places that were relatively peaceful such as Lokori where the workshop was being conducted. Skills of conflict early warning and early response therefore came at an opportune time since those in attendance were enabled to understand mechanisms that they could put into use to stop the continued escalation of conflict.
Due to this timely intervention, the community of Lokori was very much indebted to SCCRR for being in solidarity with them by showing them the way towards peaceful resolution of the conflict that was posing a real threat to peace and co-existence. The great involvement of the community in the search for peace in Turkana East shows positive prospects in the quest for lasting peace between conflicting communities in Turkana County and beyond. SCCRR therefore looks at the future with great optimism that with increased involvement of community groups in em- bracing skills of peaceful conflict resolution, peace and opportunities for development will one day be achieved.