An African answer - from Kenya to the Netherlands and back to Kenya

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Waltraut Stroh is pastor for international students in The Hague. She has been a frequent user of the DVD The Imam and Pastor, and more recently also An African Answer, both advertised on this website. Recently she visited Kenya for a study tour.

She writes: ‘I went to Kenya from The Hague. This name, I noticed, is for the Kenyans connected to the International Criminal Court, where soon six prominent Kenyans will stand on trial for their part in the post election violence in December 2007/January 2008. 

An African Answer being screened in a classroom in Egerton University In my rucksack I brought with me An African Answer, which I showed in an area in Kenya where there had been considerable violence. In an old classroom of the university of Egerton, near Nakuru, 200 students gathered to see this DVD. The students came from different Christian student organisations and represented the protestant, catholic and adventist faiths. That they all came together was already special, because they do very little ecumenically.  

The response was very positive. The students felt personally challenged and addressed as young Kenyans and future leaders in their communities. They stressed the fact that they should be role models to show that it is possible to bridge ethnical differences and promote unity among Kenyans. ‘When I share my student room with someone from another tribe, I will not fight him later’, one student said. 

They asked me for copies of the DVD to show it in their villages during their next holiday and thus spread the message of reconciliation. Since the process against the six Kenyans begins in The Hague in September, and next year there will be elections again, it is at this time vitally important to prevent violent conflicts.

In this way An African Answer came from Kenya to the Netherlands and back again to Kenya and has inspired and strengthened young people to dedicate themselves for unity and community in their country.’

Waltraut Stroh