Crossborder Peace Building Through Sports
This project's parent organization is Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation
It operates in Kenya
It uses Athletics and Football (Soccer)
Shortlisted for the Sport for Conflict Resolution Award
More about Crossborder Peace Building Through Sports
TLPF is a registered charity in Kenya set up in 2013 to support and further agendas that promote conflict resolution, peace building and poverty reduction initiatives that seek to enhance the livelihoods and resilience of poor people affected by and vulnerable to conflicts and civil strife. The underlying vision is to promote peaceful relations, livelihoods and resilience of poor people in the greater horn of Africa through sports.
TLPF is one of the leading organization using sport for peace in East Africa. The Peace Races brings youth from communities in conflict to complete in Athletics and are used to increase frequency of interaction between communities, facilitate discussions on peace, bring together leaders to engage in advocacy for peace and development.
In spite of their values of war and conflicts, pastoralists have unrivalled values that peace races seeks to tap for promoting peace. The value of friendship among young and old once created are sustained for life.
TLPF through the peace races has continued to address the marginalized pastoralists and agro-pastoralists problems, learn and share with them new innovative ways of changing their attitudes, perspectives and priorities of their communities to include programs that are of socio-economic benefit to the society.
Conflict remains a major constraint to development in the Karamojong region, impacting on government-led investment, implementation of humanitarian assistance and development and community interdependence for the people inhabiting the region. Whilst conflict in the region is largely low intensity, the protracted and complex nature (raids, banditry, rape and a spiral of revenge attacks) leads to loss of lives and livelihoods, destruction of physical infrastructure, restriction and interruption of customary natural resource management and disruption of social services as well as displacement of populations, ultimately contributing to continuing extent and depth of poverty.
Detailed analysis indicates that the main causes of conflict among the communities include competition over resources, intensified during and after drought, to which the region is prone; livestock raids and banditry reinforced by a weakening of customary regulatory and governance systems. This is reinforced in a negative spiral by underdevelopment, shrinking livelihood options and the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons.
TLPF pursues its sports for peace to facilitate and promote peace in the Greater Horn of Africa. TLPF uses sports (peace races) to bring warring communities together. Through sports interactive nature, the organization greatly enhance peace building initiative by promoting inter-community interactions and building trust.