Kenya: Stage Set for Annual KenGen Peace Race
By George Okore
NAIROBI---The annual KenGen Race and Cultural Beauty Show, which also helps to find long term solutions to conflicts among pastoralist communities, will be held on September 24, 2011 at the Turkwel Power Station in Northern Kenya.
The international event has been used annually to foster peace and co-existence among Turkana, Pokot and Marakwet communities in northern parts of Kenya. It’s undoubtedly one of East Africa's most exciting events, combining 10-kilometre race and cultural beauty show staged by girls from the communities. It has transformed from a social to a fundraising event, open to both individuals and the corporate world, to experience the North Rift by participating in the fun and contributing to the improvement of the area's living conditions.
According to KenGen CEO Eddy Njoroge, the annual event also receives funds from corporate sponsors for peace building efforts among communities. Speaking during a sponsors’ briefing in Nairobi on Thursday, Mr Njoroge said the race seeks to expose the region to the rest of the world and showcase breathtaking scenery to attractive investors and contribute towards developing the region.
‘The Great Turkwel Race provides a platform for KenGen to interact with the host communities as we have one of the biggest hydropower stations in Kenya based in Turkwel Gorge. Our intention is to close the infrastructural gap in the area and for this kind of development to take place, peace is a great pre-requisite”, he said.
He said that the race provides a forum to bring together warring communities to deliberate on issues that affect the communities. KenGen’s partnership with Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation seeks to facilitate capacity building by offering warring communities with an alternative of giving up arms in exchange with peaceful co-existence.
The charity event will take place for the third time since it was established in 2006. Funds raised from the event, mainly through registration and sponsorships, benefit the communities mainly in the educational and environmental front which are key focus areas for KenGen.
In addition to building a secondary school for communities in the area, cash prizes will be awarded to winners of the race and beauty show ranging from Kshs 10,000 to Kshs 50,000 to benefit the families in the immediate period after the race. ‘Through The Great Turkwel Race, we are now able to sustain mutually beneficial relationships with the communities without which our business cannot succeed.’ said Njoroge.
The Race has over the year received tremendous corporate support from Co-op Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, New Edge Communication, Kenya Pipeline Company, Energy Regulatory Commission, Kenya Revenue Authority, NIC Bank, Gulf Energy, Utmost Insurance, Alexander Forbes and Kenya Wildlife Service.