How listening helped Kenya's peaceful vote

August 17, 2010

“We focused on allowing people to talk of their local frustrations, but tried to show that only by working together with all Kenyans can peace live in our country. No community can be an island. An island cannot grow, you must interact with others to learn, to educate your children, to make things better.”

-- Rev. Maritim arap Rirei, an Anglican church official, explaining the peaceful vote in an Aug. 4 referendum for a new Constitution, eight months after a national election led to more than 1,300 people killed in ethnic violence. Hundreds of organizations ran local workshops and arranged peace programming on radio stations.