Peace Bench Project

Nakuru, Kenya

The city of Nakuru is the fourth larges city in Kenya. Like Nairobi, there are different malls and shopping centers. While there is a wealthy part of Nakuru, I spent my time in the low-income areas about 2 kilometers out. My job was to visit Rev. David’s church in the community of Rhonda and learn more about their Peace Bench project.

Rhonda is a low-income area of Nakuru. The community faces issues of healthcare, unemployment, and poverty. There is no running water in any of the home that I visited, nor is there a working sewage system. The only available water source in proximity to the places I visited was a community tap. People would walk with their plastic containers to the water point and pay some money to fill their containers. The roads in the near vicinity of the church are primarily made of dirt. While there are a few cement buildings, the majority of the structures and homes consist of mud-brick walls and metal roofing. All the establishments that I observed had no electricity with the exception of some stores. As in other parts of Kenya, the conventional means of transportation for the inhabitance of Rhonda is by foot.

Many of the Rhonda youth that I encountered struggled with idleness due to the high rates of unemployment. Drug abuse and alcohol consumption are also issue that can be found in this area. I actually witnessed youth smoking and drinking in the back of a property right next to churches compound. None of these man and women belonged to the church congregation or anyone that I meet during my time there. However, it does point to the fact that these things are part of the reality that people experience everyday. Other issues that the community faces include, domestic issues, child neglect, prostitution, and numerous others. Yet, people like Rev. David remain hopeful as they continue to address the issues facing their community.

Rev. David is a pastor of a church in Rhonda. David is working to address many of the issues that this community is facing through church ministries. These include a youth group, dance group, pre unit school, garden project, composting, and pig project. In addition, I was able to engage with the larger community of Rhonda. I visited an orphanage, a free women’s clinic, and blood bank & HIV/AIDS testing event. While it was a privilege to witness all these events, what intrigued me the most about this trip was the Rhonda Peace Bench.

Rhonda Peace on Earth Bench:

The Rhonda Peace Bench sits in the middle of the church compound. The bench is a symbol of peace for the community of Rhonda and the surrounding areas. It also represents reconciliation for communities that were affected by post-election violence in 2007-08.

The colors reflect those of the Kenyan flag. A metal roof provides shelter from the sun and rain. On my first full day in Nakuru I was introduced to two guys named Oscar and Mike.

Oscar is 25 years old and lives with his grandfather in a house near the church compound. While Oscar is unemployed, he enjoys acting and is involved with a small theater group. Mike is 21 and live by himself. He rents a room where he sleeps and cooks for himself. He too is also part of the same theater group that Oscar is in. The two of them along with 7 other put on event for organizations through what they call “MT” (Magnetic Theater). Apart from their passion for acting, both Oscar and Mike help with the Peace Bench project. They were the ones that actually constructed it.

Oscar and Mike describe how they used a combination of recycled plastic bottles, trash, and cement to build the one of a kind peace bench. Mike explains that filling a plastic bottle with compressed trash makes it solid and sturdy. After applying the plastic top, you are left with what has come to be called a “Bottle Brick.” In this way, the plastic bottles are used as building blocks, which are then secured with cement. Oscar pointed out that by arranging the bottles in certain configurations, you could create different exterior designs.

This particular peach bench displays a glass window through which you can see the lined bottles inside. Each of bottles display the name of one organization that helped fund the project. Oscar and Mike said that a bench of this size took about 2 weeks to construct. However, this does not include the time it took to collect the bottles and their contents.

The vision that Oscar and Mike have for the Peace Bench is big. They would like to see many more of them built all across the country. They hope that the benches will help promote peace throughout all of Kenya. With Kenya’s coming elections just around the corner, the hope for peace is something that we can all pray for. Yet, Oscar and Mike see a better future. They told me; “We want to see if we can build a peace bench in Israel and Palestine to help bring peace to the conflict there as well.”

It was evening. After a full day of walking, meeting people, and attending a few events, we were all tired. The three of us (Oscar, Mike and I) had just walked into the church compound as a light rain began to sprinkle down. We needed a place to rest. A few seconds later and we were all sitting on the bench. Children started to kick a ball on the grassy lawn in front of us as we talked about the day’s events. As I sat there, I looked out at the view of distant hills and farms that surrounded us. It was a nice place to be. It truly was a place of peace.