This book examines the efforts of one particular civil society organization, the human rights ministry of a Catholic parish located in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, to determine the extent to which it was able to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It concludes from an analysis of the social, economic and political environment of Kibera as well as church structures, that parishioners demonstrated an observable improvement in their democratic values and behavior at a localized level, but they did not increase their involvement in advocacy and lobbying efforts. Parishioners were inhibited from holding government officials to account for their abuse of power primarily due to fears of retaliation; other factors such as apathy, ethnic divisions, limited resources and restrictive church protocols further curtailed their actions. The findings of this book are important for scholars and students active in the fields of political science, African Christianity, development studies, international law and human rights. This book is also an important resource for practitioners who are addressing the social, legal, political challenges facing the urban poor in Africa.

An inspirational true story of a Marine who finds his calling empowering youth in one of the largest slums in Africa. 'The best book to land on my desk this year' Bobby Ghosh, Time 'A tremendous story of the power of friendship, love, and the transforming grace of God' Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate This is a book about two forms of service that may appear contradictory: war-fighting and peacemaking, military service and social entrepreneurship. In 2001, Marine officer-in-training Rye Barcott cofounded a nongovernmental organization with two Kenyans in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Their organization-Carolina for Kibera-grew to become a model of a global movement called participatory development, and Barcott continued volunteering with CFK while leading Marines in dangerous places. It Happened on the Way to War is a true story of heartbreak, courage, and the impact that small groups of committed citizens can make in the world.

Arthur Moody Awori known as "Uncle Moody", is a veteran Kenyan politician who served as the ninth Vice President of Kenya from 25 September 2003 to 9th January 2008. Riding on a Tiger is an epic journey of discovery. It is the story of a man lured by both the thrill of adventure and the courage to lose sight of the shore to discover the mysteries of the sea of life. This work seeks to reconstruct the author’s beginnings in a large God-fearing family in the early decades of the 20th century and how those beginnings became the anvil on which his character as an unrelenting businessman and philanthropist were forged. In this bare-all work, Moody Awori, or Uncle Moody as many have come to fondly call him, says it all. From how he came to live in whites-only neighbourhoods before his time, through the plunge into the tumultuous world of politics, to what led to the much-famed prison reforms. It is a story of a nation as seen through the eyes of one who has seen it all.

Barack Obama’s political ascendancy has focused considerable global attention on the history of Kenya generally and the history of the Luo community particularly. From politicos populating the blogosphere and bookshelves in the U.S and Kenya, to tourists traipsing through Obama’s ancestral home, a variety of groups have mobilized new readings of Kenya’s past in service of their own ends. Through narratives placing Obama into a simplified, sweeping narrative of anticolonial barbarism and postcolonial “tribal” violence, the story of the United States president’s nuanced relationship to Kenya has been lost amid stereotypical portrayals of Africa. At the same time, Kenyan state officials have aimed to weave Obama into the contested narrative of Kenyan nationhood. Matthew Carotenuto and Katherine Luongo argue that efforts to cast Obama as a “son of the soil” of the Lake Victoria basin invite insights into the politicized uses of Kenya’s past. Ideal for classroom use and directed at a general readership interested in global affairs, Obama and Kenya offers an important counterpoint to the many popular but inaccurate texts about Kenya’s history and Obama’s place in it as well as focused, thematic analyses of contemporary debates about ethnic politics, “tribal” identities, postcolonial governance, and U.S. African relations.