RAPID RESPONSE FUND - KENYA

NAME: Dekha Ibrahim Abdi
PROJECT: Kenya Rapid Response Fund
LOCATION: Kenya

Violence can't be placed on hold as funding applications are processed. As fighting erupts, every second can be crucial in containing the fallout. The Kenya Rapid Response Fund is money entrusted to local peacebuilders giving them vital funds in position, on the ground, so they can react immediately to conflict flashpoints

How it started

Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, a Kenyan peacebuilder and Patron of Peace Direct, approached us in 2004 with a request for locally managed Rapid Response Funding. Dekha had witnessed many conflicts escalating quickly from small incidents. She knew that money ready on the ground could make all the difference in containing outbreaks of violence and preventing loss of life. The fund operates by gathering and sharing information in the very early stages of conflict to avert potentially explosive situations. They then prepare an appropriate response. This could be as little as meeting the aggrieved parties to dispel misinformation, or could involve complex interventions such as providing a safe back channel of contacts. In other instances the committee intervenes directly to prevent loss of life and establish local structures to address future conflicts.

Key achievements

• December 2006 – The Rapid Response Fund facilitated a ceasefire in Nakuru district. This allowed the road to the mainmarket to reopen allowing thousands of people access to food again. Three local peace committees were created in villages to manage future conflicts.
• March 2007 – 300 houses were burnt and four people killed in a conflict in Tana River district. The Kenyan Rapid Response Fund deployed a respected and experienced elder to help diffuse the tension between farmers and pastoralists. Although a difficult negotiation, the fund initiated a long term consultative meeting to agree on land and water use in Tana River.
• January 2008 - Violent clan clashes following the disputed election expose deep-rooted ethnic tensions. 1,500 people were killed, and 600,000 forced to flee their homes. As riots broke out the Rapid Response Fund gathered together a hugely influential group of trusted public figures. Called Concerned Citizens for Peace (CCP), not only did they negotiate with key figures from the ODM and the PNU, but their forums up and down the country gave ordinary Kenyans a voice, providing Kofi Annan with crucial grassroots information.

What's next
The Kenyan RRF funding is strategically evaluating their response mechanism and learning from the post election crisis to better respond in future. We can’t tell you when the next conflict will erupt or what the solution will be to end the bloodshed but we do know the Kenyan Rapid Response Fund will have the knowledge and contacts to end the violence. You can help us make sure they have the proper resources, in proper time to perform their live saving work.

Total funding to date: £45,000 from the Network for Social Change, Margaret Hayman Charitable Trust and Man group.

Future funding needed: £20,000 to support the fund per year

Rapid Response Funds save lives

Violence can't be placed on hold as funding applications are processed. Local peacebuilders need money ready on the ground to intervene quickly.
International organisations and government departments don't have the capacity to respond quickly to urgent local conflicts. Peace Direct does and you can help us make sure local peacebuilders have proper resources, in proper time, to perform their life saving work.

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