As a documentary filmmaker, I believe in the power of small stories to express and illustrate the universal themes of empowerment, justice and peace. My vision for Peace in Our Pockets has been to capture and share the story of one organization’s efforts to nurture democracy and deepen peace in…
"The Peace Room" at The Tribe I took this panorama shot with my iPhone inside room 415 at the Tribe Hotel. It was three days after Monday's election. It captures the positions the Sisi Ni Amani office team took through much of this long election week. Each team member juggled…
The Sisi Ni Amani staff spent the entire day answering calls from their partners and watching news of the election. Their contacts in different areas have been calling in with information about incidents and requests for peace messages to be sent out. Reports and rumors of violence needed to be…
I joined the Sisi Ni Amani office staff in the early morning hours as they began their election day work of monitoring and messaging. They've created a communications headquarters at a hotel in Nairobi for safety reasons and to ensure they have access to electricity. News from the field indicates…
It's Sunday, March 3rd, the day before Kenya's historic National elections. In the past few days and weeks CNN, the New York Times, the Financial Times and others have published many misleading, sensationalist and irresponsible articles but I'm seeing a different reality on the ground. I feel little incidents of…
This week I met up with George at the ACREF center in Baba Dogo before going into the community to meet some of Sisi Ni Amani's partners. George and the other Sisi Coordinators have spent months identifying and cultivating relationships with the people and grassroots organizations who can be their…
Last week I felt like a kid in a candy store during a visit to the set and studio of the cutting edge The XYZ Show. Puppet master and activist Tony Mboyo is one of the first Kenyans I met while working on Peace in Our Pockets. Tony moderated the…
As I shared last week, the pre-election climate in Kenya is very different now from my previous trips. The pace of Sisi Ni Amani's work is much faster as the March 4th election approaches. I continue to be encouraged and impressed with the diversity of peace work and large number…
I’ve been settling in to Nairobi life and a big time change, setting my schedule, and meeting with folks to plan for the coming weeks. The daily papers are filled with pre-election stories – post-debate analysis, Presidential running-mates debate, ICC related rulings and motions and pre-trial happenings, and regional and…
Packing my bags for the States. It's been a great month in Kenya. Thanks to everyone at Sisi ni Amani, cinematographer Dan Adeli, the St. Clair family (best hosts in the world!), and everyone else who helped with our work the past weeks. I'm posting a few photos and and an…