OTHER PROGRAMS
1. Jamii Thabiti Project(usalama wetu,ubora wetu)
Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics is one of the partners implementing the Jamii Thabiti project in Coast region. The main goal of the project is to improve community security by addressing the inter-communal violence (peace building component) in Kilifi County. The project is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) through Coffey International’s Jamii Thabiti Programme and is implementing the activities in the 7 sub counties of Kilifi County. It is an 18 months project that started in October 2016 and is to run till March 2018. The project is focusing on promoting tolerant communities in Kilifi County that appreciate diversity in the interest of advancing peace and security. The project has been working with religious leaders who are the main implementers of the project activities as well as the community leaders, security organs, women and youth to promote inter-ethnic and interreligious tolerance for peace. The project has also been collaborating with other CSOs, the Government peace structures and security structures within Kilifi. The project uses the following strategies to achieve its objectives:
- a. Trainings
- b. Community awareness raising/outreaches,
- c. Media Sensitization and
- d. Community dialogue forums.
2. Building Resilience In Civil Society (BRICS)
Peace, Security and Stabilization (PSS) Project is a Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics (CICC) Trust project which is supported by Building Resilience for Civil Society (BRICS/DAI) and aims at having anti-radicalized coast society that is peaceful and harmonious.
The project goal is to assist CICC realize its vision of achieving a divinely, just, peaceful, and harmonious society of Kenya. The project seeks to strengthen community resilience to radicalization and violent extremism using counter narratives, social media, youth empowerment and stakeholder trust. The project is being implemented in Kilifi, Kwale, Tana River and Mombasa Counties. The project is currently on its second phase which started on 3rd May 2016 and will be ending on 3rd September 2016.
The focuses of activities have involved capacity building of religious leaders on social media and online countering of radicalization by extremist groups. As part of tackling online extremist the group of the ten clerics have so far developed a facebook page to provide correct religious interpretations and doctrine. The facebook page called Interfaith clerics opinions”, CVE News is now being used in designing responsive messages to counter the extremist narratives by coming up with matching online intervention. The page was developed after a series of trainings in addressing the knowledge gap of religious leaders in the use of internet and social media in countering youth radicalization and countering online recruitment of youths to violent extremist groups. Consultative leaders meetings bringing together participants from religious fraternity, government, police and mainly clerics on ways of countering online radicalization activities by extremist groups such as Al Shabaab in recruiting young people to violent groups have also been undertaken.
There are various key milestones that have so far been realized in the project. One of them is that CICC through its clerics has launched successful pastoral programmes (PPI) in ten primary schools within Mombasa County. This was after CICC clerics met the ten identified primary public schools administration and agreed on the programme. The schools have so far allowed our clergy to undertake the pastoral programmes within the schools each Friday morning.
The project has also undertaken radio programmes and one TV show moderated by clerics as a way of reaching a wider audience with countering of CVE messages. The calls in programmes were hugely successful in that audiences were able to call and have their views and issues addressed by the panel of discussants that were drawn from both the Muslim and Christian faiths. The discussions have mainly dwelt on peaceful coexistence, strengthening of religious harmony and countering radicalization among the youths. The talk shows have reached over 300,000 listeners and acted as a platform of a common religious theology in fostering of peace, reconciliation and co-existence in a multi-religious society such of Mombasa.
The project has also been able to develop an interfaith newsletter which allows various peace building and conflict management experts to discuss various concepts. The project is also in the verge of commissioning a research on the role of women and girls in countering religious violent extremism.
Year | Partner | Project | Objective | Achievement |
2001 – 2005 | CICC Member Organizations | Formation of CICC | To bring together religious leaders to contribute towards peace building at the Coast |
Formation of CICC Setting up of CICC regional committee |
2004 – 2005 | Action Aid | Drug Abuse and HIV /AIDS management | To train and capacity build clerics in Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS Management | Reduction of Stigma among the religious leaders and congregations |
2005 – 2006 | CRS/USIP |
Research on Interfaith Conflicts
|
To understand the causes of conflicts among communities in Tana River, Lamu and Mombasa Districts. | The identification of resource distribution as the main cause of conflict in the given areas |
2006 – 2010 | Royal Danish Embassy | Peace Security and Development |
Setting up secretariat in neutral position. To set up district and location committees Capacity building for board, staff and grassroots religious leader structures |
Empowered religious leaders actively participating in local peace and security structures |
2006 – 2008 | British High Commission | Kwale Interfaith Youth Empowerment Project | To reduce religious radicalization and vulnerability among the Youths | Youths empowered and engaging in economically productive activities document |
2008 – 2009
|
USAID/OFDA/CRS (Office of Foreign Disaster Agency) |
Post Election Emergency Project
|
Establish dialogue forums for community reconciliation and cohesion | Improved inter-ethnic relations and reconciliation among the grassroots communities and laying foundation for peace building process. |
2008 – 2010 | MM Netherlands | Inter-religious dialogue Project | Establish a common (interfaith ) approach towards peace building | Religious leaders sharing their faiths on issues of peace amicably. |
2009 – 2012
|
CRS (Private funds)
|
Peaceful Coexistence
|
Promote interfaith dialogue towards conflict management | Grassroots communities from diverse faith to dialogue on common issues affecting peace and underlying causes of religious tensions |
2010 – 2012 | KCSSP – PACT /ACT | Peace Building and Conflict Transformation |
To increase the voice of religious leaders in peace building and advocacy. To build capacity of religious leaders to mentor youths for peace building work |
Religious leaders contributing in the lobbying and advocacy for the national peace policy. Strengthened relationship between youths and religious leaders promoting peace
|
2010 – 2012
|
CRS/ USAID
|
People to People Peace (3Ps) project
|
To renew commitment among the grassroots community in Likoni to embrace peaceful coexistence | Formation of peer group structures (youth, women, elders, clerics), village peace committees, division peace committees and constituency committees. |
2010 – 2016
|
CRS |
Dialogue and Action Project I,II&III
|
Reduce cases of early Marriages/ Pregnancy among girls in Malindi, Tana River and Lamu Districts | Religious leaders working together with community leaders and government to delay early marriages and retain girls in school |
2012 | URAIA | Promotion of interreligious/ethnic cohesion | To enhance peaceful coexistence amongst the diverse coastal communities | Improved interethnic tolerance amongst ethnic leaders of communities with the coast region |
2012 | KCSSP – PACT /ACT | SAFE | To promote and environment conducive for peaceful and fair general election at the coast region | Consensus building amongst to religious leaders from the diverse faiths in the region. |
2011 – 2015 | Royal Danish Embassy | Peace Security and Development |
To promote Interfaith Dialogue for peace and security for development
|
·Improved tolerance and cohesion amongst communities of diverse faiths and cultures within the coast region. · Strengthened CICC structures of approximately above 2000 clerics effectively participating in peace building and conflict mitigation. · Improved capacity amongst religious leaders in conflict monitoring and mitigation
|
2013 – 2015 |
IRD Funding by Global Ministries University 2013 cohort & Caritas Ambrosina 2015 cohort |
Certificate in Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue | To establish a resources base of Professional in the grassroot areas of the former Coast region | 30 graduants in 2013 and 20 graduants in 2015 consisting the clerics, women and youth who are now engaged in conflict resolution activities locally in all the 6 Counties of the former Coast region. |
2015 |
High Commission of Canada (Canada Fund for Local Initiatives)
|
Strengthening Community Extremism (SCAVE)Actions Against Violent |
1. To set community safe spaces for dialogue over traditional and religious teachings and practices that promote friendship, peace and stability within the Lamu Community. 2. Strengthen the youth, women and general community structures in dealing with the pain and suspicions that resulted out of the attacks for a stable society.
|
· Religious leaders are teaching their congregants their core religious beliefs and values. · This has reduced the suspicions and mistrusts that existed between the religious divide in Mpeketoni and the Muslim clergy · With the supervision of CIPK which is a member organization of CICC are developing a curriculum for madrassa teachers to allow the same teachings in all Madrassas.
|
2016 – 2018 | Building Resilience in Civic Society – BRICS/DAI |
Peace, Security and Stabilization project
|
To strengthen community resilience to violent extremism and radicalization through counter narratives, youth empowerment, and stakeholder trust building |
(On going) |
2016 – 2017 | German Embassy | Countering radicalization through young religious leaders’ engagement | To empower young preachers to address radicalization and extremism amongst the youths and community through proper use and interpretation or religious scriptures |
·Honest and deep discussions on religion and radicalization amongst the youths. ·Willingness of religious and worship centers to allow discussions religion and radicalization within their premises. ·The strong bond and relationship building amongst the implementing clerics despite the differences in religion.
|
2016 – 2018 | COFFEY International – Jamii Thabiti | Improving Community Security |
To strengthen community capacity to manage conflict and build community trust for peaceful coexistences by 2018. To capacity build and build linkages between religious leaders and other stakeholders for effective peace building strategies by 2018 To strengthen CICC’s structures for an improved program delivery and sustainabilitythrough training and networking |
· (Ongoing) |
2016 – 2018 | CRS – GHR | Dialogue and Action Project III | Children of Kenya’s Coastal region to grow up free from child marriage and sexual abuse | (On-going) |
IFA – German Government | Entrenching resilience against violent extremism in communities at the Coast |
Empower young religious leaders to influence families and youth into active peacemakers Strengthen the capacity of women religious leaders to influence families and youth into active roles of countering radicalization and extremism Promote religious leaders to become central change agents for good governance and political accountability towards community peaceful coexistence |
Established 2 resource centres cum offices in Tana River and Kwale Counties
Established women desk in Mombasa, Kwale and Tana River Counties
(On going) |
|
CRS-Kenya | Capacity Strengthening for Interreligious Community Action (CIRCA) |
To increase the capacity of the clerics on interreligious actions for community cohesion.
|
(on going) |