Kenya: Largely Peaceful Kenyan Vote Bolstered By Youth, Technology

A young woman who saw her home burned to the ground as a child, and another who ended up homeless for 1 and a half years after Kenya's election violence of 2007 and 2008, are among the youth leading a movement to end the destructive cycle.

Backed by a Mercy Corps program of leadership training, entrepreneurship grants and technological innovations that was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Ann Wanjiku Mwangi and Zipporah Chepkemoi Maina have become young peace activists in a country repeatedly convulsed by election-related violence - until this year. With the exception of isolated incidents of violence and unrest, this month's general elections were largely peaceful, and losing candidate Raila Odinga has pledged to pursue his appeal in court rather than in the streets against winner Uhuru Kenyatta. "The avoidance of violence so far is no accident," USIP Executive Vice President Kristin Lord said during a March 11 roundtable hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. and co-sponsored by Mercy Corps to outline the program's work and the challenges that remain.

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