No one ever said it was going to be easy.

2008 got off to a tumultuous start for Kenya, with the violence that erupted after the contested presidential election of December 27. With thousands forced to flee their homes, the country now faces the challenge of what to do with the camps of these displaced people.

While the government wants to return people to their homes, the displaced people are understandably reluctant to return to neighbors who burned their homes or killed their family members. The Friends Church Peace Teams, organized in early 2008, have made themselves available to travel to the camps and to the “receiving communities,” serving as a listening presence.

Recently a District Officer took a group of people back to Sugoi to resettle them, and met with so much hostility and violence that the group had to leave, returning to their camp. He contacted John Muhanji, Director of the Africa Ministries Office of Friends United Meeting in Kenya, asking for help from him and the Friends Church Peace Teams, whose help had made a marked difference in enabling resettlement efforts just a few days earlier. Muhanji asked for prayer from the assembly of the United Society of Friends Women of Kenya and then contacted other members of the Friends Church Peace Teams to join him in the next resettlement effort at Sugoi.

What happened next amazed Muhanji and convinced him of the power of prayer. The elders of Sugoi met after the violent incident and rebuked themselves for chasing away the displaced people. A group of elders then went to the camp to which the displaced people had returned, apologized to them, and invited them into their homes. The elders had decided to offer to host their returning neighbors in their homes, rather than having them wait at an intermediate camp while their destroyed homes were rebuilt. The Friends Church Peace Teams facilitated conversations between the elders and the displaced people.

The open-heartedness of the receiving community was matched by the open-heartedness of the displaced people. An elderly man named Muchemi, for example, who had lost an orphanage and a school which he owned (along with 600 bags of corn and 500 bags of dried coffee ready for export), responded, with tears in his eyes, that he did not count what he lost in the violence but was happy that his old friends welcomed them back. He asked to be forgiven if he had ever annoyed anyone. After his brave act, many followed suit.

The reconciliation was powerful, and Muhanji and others commented on the power of God in transforming hearts and restoring relationships. Spiritual leadership accomplished something that the government alone was not able to do.


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Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, churches, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2008 by Margaret Benefiel.