The loss of life and daunting social and environmental challenges, including the loss of habitat for East Africa’s renowned wildlife, have awakened the resolve of Kenyans to reclaim the treasured Nairobi River and to invest in strategies for sustainable peace among the county’s diverse ethnic population.

In August 2008, a major supporter arrived in Nairobi—the Global Peace Festival (GPF)—whose program of interfaith service, environmental stewardship, and cultural celebration drew a warm response from Kenyans across the economic and political spectrum.

“This is an important day for Kenya and for Africa,” Kenyan Prime Minister Odinga declared at the GPF’s main event. “It is a new beginning in the quest for our nation to be once again known as a nation of peace and security. We long for the day when our nation can again be proud of this river, which could provide water to millions.”

Launched a year earlier by the Harvard-educated peace entrepreneur and Service For Peace founder Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, the Global Peace Festival has brought together more than a million peace-minded people in nations on every continent.

A key to the GPF’s success is the grassroots support of many local partnering groups and the organization of service projects that enlist volunteers across religious and ethnic boundaries, particularly in conflict zones. In Nairobi, festival organizers zeroed in on the Nairobi River and launched a cleanup effort that brought thousands of volunteers to the banks of the river in the largest such mobilization effort in Kenya’s history.

In March 2009, the United Nations Habitat world headquarters in Nairobi hosted the International Young Leaders Summit organized by the Youth Federation for World Peace (YFWP) and Global Peace Festival (GPF), in partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Martin Luther King III’s Realizing the Dream, the PLO Lumumba Foundation, Vision 2030 Secretariat, National Youth Parliament, Junior Chamber International Nairobi Central, Nation Media Group, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, and Safaricom, Ltd.

The Summit adopted the GPF’s model of service by again mobilizing volunteers with a large river cleanup and tree-planting initiative, profiled on Kenya National Television. The Global Peace Service Alliance (GPSA) was launched at the Summit along with the Nairobi River Peace Initiative. GPSA is building an international service corps joining volunteers, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and faith-based groups in a mission of peace-building through volunteer service.

In the festival’s keynote address, Moon urged Kenyans to take pride in their nation and Africa’s role as the cradle of civilization.

“The message of ‘one family under God’ should be a clarion call for this age,” he said. “The power of one human family united can quell the turmoil of conflict throughout the world, from the conflict in the Middle East, the remnant of the Cold War in Korea, and poverty, disease and civil strife in Africa.”

About Global Peace Festival

Led by president Hyun Jin Moon, Global Peace Festival (GPF) promotes and celebrates persons and programs that contribute to reconciliation, mutual respect, harmony and cooperation among the members of the whole human family, as “One Family Under God.”

In partnership with a variety of faith-based organizations, NGOs, government agencies, educational institutions, and members of the private sector, GPF encourages programs that strengthen God-centered marriages and families, facilitate intercultural and inter-religious cooperation, and foster a culture of peace and service.

Ongoing programs are implemented throughout the year and culminate in a biennial Global Peace Festival that consists of an international leadership conference, a social impact program, and a public celebration.

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