Kiambu,
Friday March 29, 2024
KNA by Cedric Karungaru
Members of Kiambu County engagement forum (CEF) on Thursday met for a training workshop hosted by SOWED-ACES on preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) in the county.
The workshop encompassed training on project management and monitoring and evaluation research and learning (MERL) on PCVE through a partnership with Act Change Transform (ACT!) and Gender mainstreaming in PCVE National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC).
ACES Africa Executive Director Karanja Muraya expressed his delight with the members for their ongoing work emphasizing the need to take the knowledge gained and implement it at the grassroots level.
“As the CEF, the obligation is to make sure that PCVE is not only an issue that it addressed when attacks happen but to prevent it through diligent work with the community through different sectors by creating awareness and commitment to action.”He said.
CECM of Education Nancy Gichung’wa commended the members for their work and expressed the full support of the county government in facilitation of the activities of the CEF members.
She emphasised the need to get ahead of these issues by examining the root causes of violent extremism and radicalization in the County.
“This is a very important county in regards to violent extremism. We are pivotal in terms of our proximity to Nairobi as this can allow easy access for extremists who use Kiambu as their hideout,” she said.
Aileen Mukiri, a member of the CEF expressed her satisfaction on the progress and knowledge the members gained during the 3 days’ training, particularly the attention to detail the partners had when dealing with PCVE.
“We have learned a lot and are looking forward to implementing our tasks for the benefit of making Kiambu safer and elevating its people,” she said.
The CEF members were also engaged in discussions on implementing active measures cutting across the political, economic, ideological, media and educational sectors through enshrining them in pillars that encourage the development of a PCVE framework in the county.The launch of the County Action Plan is set to be held on April 16, 2024 at the St Paul’s University.
Courtesy; KNA