Empowering communities to take the lead in Kenya

Kenya is a regional economic powerhouse and an important country in the fight against violent extremism. However, it has also been subject to rising extremism and public terrorist attacks.  Violent extremist groups – including Al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia – have attempted to create a schism between communities to fuel narratives and recruit individuals.

To mitigate this, Hedayah developed a ‘countering violent extremism toolkit’ to empower Kenyan communities and local associations to take the lead in countering violent extremism. The program is part of the broader US Government’s multi-stakeholder counter-terrorism and extremism program called the “NiWajibu Wetu” (NIWETU) initiative, which means, “it’s our responsibility” in the national language, Swahili.

The USAID program entrusted Hedayah’s expertise to develop the countering violent extremism toolkit, which is helping communities and local leaders understand how to counter violent extremism and how to run their own CVE programs through skills in research, measurement, monitoring and evaluation, with a focus on youth resilience and counter-narratives.

The toolkit serves as a comprehensive, context-specific resource composed of four-course modules for trainers to deliver in a fully immersive workshop. It can serve non-state actors, non-governmental organizations, grassroots initiatives and non-traditional actors who have direct access to communities vulnerable to radicalization.