Lamu County unveils refugee peacebuilding programme in Kiunga
The multi-pronged programme includes community dialogues, psychosocial support, legal awareness campaigns, and economic empowerment projects.
Lamu County has launched a peacebuilding programme aimed at promoting coexistence between refugee populations and host communities in the border town of Kiunga.
The initiative spearheaded by the Department of Public Service Management (PSM) is designed to foster mutual respect, shared prosperity, and social harmony in areas where tensions have historically existed between locals and displaced populations.
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“This is not just a celebration, it is a call to action. We want refugees and host residents to live not as strangers in conflict, but as neighbours working together toward common goals,” said Shee Kupi Shee, the Director of Disaster Management and Peacebuilding.
The multi-pronged programme includes community dialogues, psychosocial support, legal awareness campaigns, and economic empowerment projects.
Organisers say the initiative aims to bridge the divide through workshops, trauma-informed care, joint economic ventures, and access to basic services such as education and healthcare.
The programme follows a series of community interventions, including a recent case where Shee advocated for a refugee woman in Kiunga who had been denied healthcare due to expired legal documents.
His efforts led to the renewal of her documentation and successful treatment.
“This programme is more than policy, it is personal. Our communities are strongest when united, not divided by fear or bureaucracy. Refugees are not a burden, they are part of our shared future,” he said.
Chief Officer of the Public Service Department, Khadija Fumo, also used the event to call attention to the plight of refugee women, many of whom face heightened risks of gender-based violence across the Kenya–Somalia border.
“No woman should live in fear, especially those who have already lost so much… Safety is not a privilege, it is a fundamental right. We must ensure refugee women are not only protected, but empowered to live with dignity,” said Khadija.
She further stressed the county’s commitment to ending gender-based violence through grassroots partnerships and public education. “Our work goes beyond offering shelter. It is about building futures free from violence by involving both refugee and host communities in lasting solutions.”
They said the launch of the programme marks a significant shift in how the county approaches displacement, focusing not just on humanitarian relief, but long-term integration and localised peacebuilding.
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