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Friday, November 30, 2012

Kisumu to unveil ‘Sitarusha Mawe’ peace campaign



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY JUSTUS OCHIENG
A youth in Kisumu prepares to throw a stone at police officers who tried to quell riot in the area on August 27. PHOTO_JUSTUS OCHIENG
A youth in Kisumu prepares to throw a stone at police officers who tried to quell riot in the area on August 27. PHOTO/JUSTUS OCHIENG
There will be no more stone throwing by Kisumu youth as campaign to stop this social vice is set to be launched on December 8.
The Sitarusha mawe peace campaign” is an initiative of Kisumu Artists Network and is organised by Berlin Ajeck, Laura Jean and George Otiende.
“This campaign is aimed at changing the horrific image of Kisumu which of late has been associated with violence and stone throwing,” Ajeck said.
He said the campaign will entail a peaceful procession though Kisumu town with performance interludes along the way before heading for the main event at the Jomo Kenyatta grounds.
Kisumu Artists Network is a a professional performance and Visual consortium comprising of over 200 artists drawn from Kisumu county and its environs.
The organisers said they will use performance and visual arts to not only communicate their message but also give youth ideas of how they can use their time constructively.
"The youth have been accused of being idle and this makes them engage in acts of violence. We want them to see that arts is a gainful occupation," Ajeck said.
The organisers say helping youth tap and utilise their talents will attract investors which will help address the issue of youth unemployment.
KAN, a professional performance and Visual consortium comprising of over 200 artists drawn from Kisumu county and its environs will use performance and visual arts as a source of gainful occupation to discourage violence  and who want to redeem Kisumu's image.
The Kisumu Artists Network (KAN) is set to hold an anti-violence campaign to enlighten the area youth on the need to wage a war against the social vice.
Dubbed “Sitarusha mawe peace campaign” the crusade is scheduled for December 8. Organizers of the event Berlin Ajeck, Laura Jean and George Otiende said KAN, a professional performance and Visual consortium comprising of over 200 artists drawn from Kisumu county and its environs will use performance and visual arts as a source of gainful occupation to discourage violence.
“The campaign is aimed at redeeming the horrific image of Kisumu which of late has been known for violence, stone throwing and persecution,” Ajeck said.
He pointed out that their campaign will entail a peaceful procession in Kisumu that will culminate to the main event at the Jomo Kenyatta grounds.
According to Ajeck, the procession shall have performance interludes at various stopovers to drum up support for cohesion and integration.
He said they intend to enlighten all the youth including the school leavers on the need to improve on their talents so that they do not stay idle thus be prone to causing havoc in the area. This we are alive to do so as to attract more investors to this town to address the issue of youth unemployment, adds Ajeck.

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