DEKHA IBRAHIM ABDI, MANDERA (FORMER CHAMPIONS PROJECT)

Wajir District, Northern Kenya…by the early nineties, fighting spilling over from Somalia, combined with pressure on crucial resources, lead to a state of emergency.

Dismayed at the rising violence, Dekha and other local women decided that, at the very least, the market should be safe for people of any clan.

Dekha and her team established ground rules for the market and bravely monitored them. When a conflict arose, the women were on hand to try and resolve them.

Then came the next stage. Dekha started to involve clan elders, putting them at the forefront of discussions about the wider conflicts. Eventually, after 1,500 deaths, the violence was brought to an end.

But Dekha’s work isn’t over. In 2004 violence broke out in the neighbouring district of Mandera killing over 60 people, many of them women and children. In Wajir they learnt the hard way. Dekha’s team in Mandera are sharing everything she has learnt so that this conflict can be stopped before it gets out of hand.

Dekha's Champions Project in Mandera is now completed but other projects still need your support. Find out more.

Peace Direct's relationship with Dekha continues; she now heads up our Kenya Rapid Response Fund.