Earlier this week, I spent two engrossing days in a Mercy Corps “Negotiation and Influence” workshop at its offices in Lavington, a Nairobi suburb. Six of the 12 member class were project managers and workers from Somalia, and the rest were from around Nairobi.
Over the last decade, Mercy Corps. has emerged as a leading international humanitarian and development organization. It has operations in nearly 40 countries, including 11 countries in Africa, and a staff of almost 4000 people. Its mission is “to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure productive and just communities.” In Kenya, it is working to reconcile communities torn by the post election violence in 2007 and 2008. Link to Mercy Corps Kenya
A major catalyst for me to spend this 8 weeks in Kenya were my brief but personal discussions with Neal Keny-Guyer, the CEO of Mercy Corps, and with my law partner Barnes Ellis, who works pro bono for Mercy Corps as its legal counsel. (Mercy Corps is headquartered in Portland where I live and work.)
Neal recently wrote an article about why we should care about “failed states,” such as Haiti, which are far away and offer little hope. His single question sums it up:
“How can we give up on them, if they refuse
to give up on themselves?”
Indeed. No one in the workshop I attended is going to give up on anything.
We worked through variations of very useful models to resolve conflict and negotiate acceptable agreements among diverse stakeholders.
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| Instructor Joe |
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| Instructor Maurice |
The course included multiple interactive exercises that focused on the issues facing the Mercy Corps managers and workers every day, such as convincing local leaders to join and support community peace projects. (My side discussions with the Somalians are what let to my last two blogs about gender based violence and Madison High School’s Rose Princess.)
As I watched and listened to my classmates, their hope and concern were contagious. They will make a difference.
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