STYLE CAUSE

ONE ON ONE.

Julie Korir has identified his role in the society, and that is to preach the message of peace. Her whole life has been dedicated to ensure that peace prevails both locally and internationally. She works with a group called Vijana Bila Ukabila and today she sits down and opens to us about her journey so far as a peace ambassador.

Tell us, where did the inspiration of becoming a peace ambassador come from?

All along, i never l never knew that i could become  a peace ambassador, the idea never stroke my mind until i experienced the 2007 to 2008 post election violence. I lost a lot of people i cared about. From then, i realized that people fought because Tribalism, and i thought that something needed to be done before its too late. Also from the bible, where are told that blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the children of God. So that is where my inspiration came from.

You work with a group called Vijana Bila Ukabila, when did it began?

Vijana Bila Ukabila began in 2013, our founder had attended a national youth summit, he realized that most of the time, we usually blame the government for issues that we can rise up and deal with, and that is where he got the vision to start a group that would work to create awareness to the public on the importance of peace.

Why Vijana Bila Ukabila and not Vijana na Amani?

First, we decided to use Vijana because we are the once who are mostly used to cause violence today. We chose tribalism because we realized that tribalism is the cause of almost all the problems that we are facing today in the country, so by fighting tribalism, we will have fought a lot of issues that we are facing. And that is where the name came from.

Is it right when you say that it is the youths who are mostly used for violence?

Not all the youths are influenced to cause violence, but majority are. Today, the youths cover over 75% of the population today, so if you want to address the issue of peace, you live the remaining 25% and deal with the majority. And that is why we use the youths as a channel of passing the message of peace to the people.

How has the journey been so far?
The journey has not been good i must say,we could have abandoned it long time ago. First of all, we don't have any sponsors who support our initiative, so we basically depend on our own. But it is the passion that we have for peace that has kept us going all along. And we thank God for that.

Which ways do you guys use to sensitize the public on the importance of peace?We usually do this through songs, we have composed different songs as a a group, we also do this through civic education and through peace campaigns. We involve ourselves with other platforms such as UWIANO and NCIC to pass the message to the public.

Do you think as a group, your mission is a success?
Yes, if you compare the 2007 general elections with the two previous once that we have done recently, i must say that there has been an improvement. Kenyans have learnt it the hard way. No body would want a repeat of what happened in 2007. As a group, we are proud of what we have done so far.

Any word of advise to the youths out there?There is always a humble beginning, not many people will identify you. But if you stick with God, you will go places. Secondly, practice your democratic right peacefully, don't allow to be used. Differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, don't be used by any politicians. Your life is in your hands.

How can people reach you if they are interested to join your group?
You can find us on Facebook at Vijana Bila Ukabila, on Twitter @VijanaB.U and also through our numbers...0700197867/0720716761.

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS.
1. Do you drink? No, but i used to then i stopped.
2. How are you feeling today? Good, because somebody has recognized our work.
3. Single or Dating? Engaged.
4. Have you left a hotel without paying bills? Yes.

Styling and Shaping up your goals....#STYLEWITHALPHY