草莓社区

Tecla Namachanja Wanjala MA 鈥�03 was honored as the 2019 Peacebuilder of the Year in May during the Summer Peacebuilding Institute. She accepted the award on behalf of her family, several of whom were present, but also 鈥渙n behalf of Kenya, and not just Kenya, but Africa.鈥�

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to think that this is just my honor,鈥� she said, adding thanks to EMU and to her fellow CJP alumni working together in Africa on peacebuilding initiatives.

Over nearly 30 years, Wanjala has worked in many countries, including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda, in various aspects of peacebuilding, from arbitration and mediation to reconciliation and trauma healing.聽Currently the board chair for the Green String Network, she has served as commissioner and acting chair of Kenya鈥檚 Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission聽and in other roles with organizations such as PeaceNet and Pact International.

Wanjala鈥檚 peacebuilding work began with Somali refugees in 1991, encountering 鈥渢rauma when we didn鈥檛 know what trauma was.鈥澛� She came to EMU after meeting聽Jan Jenner MA 鈥�99, then a co-country representative with Mennonite Central Committee in Kenya. (Jenner ultimately became the first director of聽CJP鈥檚 Practice and Training Institute and then of the Women鈥檚 Peacebuilding Leadership Program.)

鈥淛an is the one who identified me in a small village and saw my potential,鈥� said Wanjala, who was working with Catholic Relief Services on resettlement issues. 鈥淪he brought me on the national level, encouraged me to come to EMU. I looked for funding and she said come by faith.鈥�

At EMU, Wanjala took five courses in trauma, including Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) trainings. She created an independent study to synthesize concepts, 鈥渢o聽think about how we do this in Africa.鈥�

Later, she collaborated with colleagues from the Green String Network who also were familiar with STAR materials: 鈥淲e communicate best through folklore, stories and images, and so we took the STAR material, translated it into Kiswahili and developed images for each session. This is how Kumekucha was born.鈥�

The Kumekucha program 鈥� Kiswahili for 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new dawn鈥� 鈥� empowers local leaders to create 鈥渟pace for people to talk, to cry, to affirm each other鈥� in dealing with the country鈥檚 historic and current trauma, Wanjala said. The social healing program has expanded from communities to police and prison wardens.

Wanjala was among six Kenyans and three internationals selected as commissioners to the Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, established to investigate human rights violations and other historical injustices in Kenya between 1963 and 2008. She eventually became acting chair, leading efforts to record and witness testimony.

Though implementation of the commission鈥檚 recommendations has not been fulfilled, she says that is not a reason to give up on the hope of reconciliation and the creation of healing spaces in communities. It is important to be ready to see 鈥渨indows of opportunity鈥� and to gain supporters who agree in the approach and importance of the work.

鈥淪tart small, people will hear and join the river along the way,鈥� she said.