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Kenyan Peace Activist Getry Agizah Anguya Speaks   [ 2009-04-17 ]

Kenyan Peace Activist Getry Agizah Anguya speaks about Grassroots Reconciliation after the Post-Election Violence in Kenya — Monday April 20, 7 pm

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Following Kenya’s disputed national election held in December 2007, violence broke out in many parts of the country. Quakers — Kenya has the largest body of Quakers in a single nation — very quickly organized relief and reconciliation activities that included and brought together Kenyans of all ages and from all sides of the conflict. One year later, their work to help people heal from trauma, restore communities, and mediate and prevent conflict continues. What can their model teach us about peacemaking? Come hear Getry Agizah Anguya, a 27-year-old Kenyan woman and a member of the Religious Society of Friends, speak about her work as a peacemaker and a facilitator of Alternatives to Violence Project and Healing and Rebuilding our Community workshops. Since March 2008, nearly 5,000 Kenyans have participated in these workshops.

As the Program Coordinator of Friends in Peace and Community Development, Getry is in charge of organizing and coordinating AVP and HROC workshops at the Friends Peace Centre in Lubao near Kakamega, Kenya. She has conducted over 100 workshops herself and serves as the host for visitors, workshop facilitators and participants who visit the Peace Centre. Additionally, Getry has volunteered with the Uzima Foundation doing documentation and training youth about reproductive health and gender-based violence. A very committed peace worker at the grassroots level, Getry is very much involved with ongoing efforts to reduce personal and societal violence by teaching conflict management techniques. The programs Getry works on promote community trauma healing and reconciliation, and they encourage peaceful co-existence with family, neighbor, and community.

Admission to this extraordinary lecture is free and refreshments will be served. Monday evening, April 20, 2009 at 7 pm in the Vestry of the First Parish Church of Groton, 1 Powderhouse Road (junction of routes 119 & 40), Groton, MA. For more information, contact at 978-448-5369. Event sponsored by the Prison Ministry of First Parish Church of Groton, Friends Peace Teams, the Alternatives to Violence Project of Massachusetts, and Our Prison Neighbors.

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