Co-Investigator: Kennedy Onkware
Associate Professor, Philosophy
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology

Funding Agency: Templeton Religion Trust through Calvin College, USA

Project Duration: July 2018 - August 2020

About the Project: Calvin’s College Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, with generous
support from the Templeton Religion Trust, funded our project to explore the role of the Catholic Church,
as a non-state actor in peace building processes in ethnically divided societies in Eldoret Diocese. The
general objective of the study was to investigate the role of the Catholic Church, through the Amani
Mashinani – Swahili for “peace at the grassroots” model, in building community’s peace and peaceful
coexistence among the ethnic groups. Specifically, the project evaluated the nature and causes of ethnic
conflicts among the tribes living in the County; surveyed the role of the Catholic Church in conflict
resolution in the County; examined the philosophy and theology behind the Catholic Church’s model of
Amani Mashinani in conflict transformation within and among communities in Uasin Gishu County (in
relation to dialogue, forgiveness reconciliation and healing); appraised the translation and application of
this model by the communities in Uasin Gishu (in dialogue, forgiveness, reconciliation, retribution and
healing); and, analyzed the role of the diverse cultural (and ethnic) mix in the adoption and application of
the model.

URL for Projects Awarded: https://calvin.edu/centers-institutes/nagel-institute/projects/african-
advance/awarded-grants/