Today, Monday, March 4th, marks Kenya’s first presidential elections in five years. The country – and world – are watching closely, because in 2007 and 2008, following Kenya’s last elections, violence erupted throughout the country, killing 1,500 people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. Today, however, things seem peaceful. Citizens passionate about peace have been preparing for months, ensuring that orders are in place throughout the country to prevent chaos. So far, so good – as this article is being written, it’s late afternoon and there are few reports of election-related violence. Rather, peaceful queues and cheery attitudes are reported at polling stations around Kenya.

Everyone has this day off, and students have the week of school off, too. Teachers and school staff are at home voting, and students are either home with their families or, in Daraja’s case, at school filling their class-free week with other activities. Today was election-themed at Daraja. Before breakfast, Daraja girls gathered (on their own accord) to pray for peace during this exciting day; then, they held mock elections where a different Daraja student represented each of the eight presidential aspirants in a campaign speech to her peers. Teddy, for example, made a very convincing Martha Karua, the only female aspirant and role model to many Daraja girls. Following the speeches, students voted for the presidential candidate of their choice, so stay tuned for the results – we’re waiting to release them till the “real” results are out.

Next, the girls gathered for a discussion about the violence of 2007-08. (To learn more about this, and today’s elections, click here.) We asked this question: why did violence erupt following the 2007 presidential elections? Many girls cited the presumed-flawed election as the cause, whereby incumbent president Kibaki was alleged to have skewed results in his favor, thereby beating popular candidate Raila Odinga. But, as local Kenyans and some international community members have since observed, much of the violence actually stemmed from a much deeper issue – tribalism. Kenya is comprised of 42 different tribes, and their differences were highly exploited by the British during colonial rule. Since then, unequal resource distribution has been a cause of tension between tribes, and, as it’s been suggested, the skewed presidential election of 2007 was the perfect chaotic event to serve as a reason for intertribal fighting. This is especially true given the fact that political parties in Kenya are divided along tribal lines.

Daraja, though, is a very unique place in that it houses girls from across Kenya, from dozens of different tribes and regions. And, the girls live peacefully with one another, becoming close friends with people who, were they not here, they might never get a chance to know. So, following the discussion of tribalism, Daraja girls created artistic signs that read “I am Kenyan,” and posed for photos around campus holding the signs and smiling, thereby hoping to show the world that Kenyans can identify with their nationality first and foremost, and then their tribe. (This is an age-old unifying idea that has worked well in places like Tanzania, where national unity is very strong and tribalism is low.) Stay tuned for a look at these creative pictures later in the week!

The girls then held a debate, whose topic was, “A peaceful nation depends on good leaders and not necessarily the citizens.” A more in-depth analysis of this heated and interested discussion will be posted later this week, giving you the chance to decide if you agree or disagree with this statement (Daraja girls were evenly split!). Tonight, girls will gather to watch election updates, and we’ll be keeping you posted all week with results and any other relevant information from campus and Kenya as a whole.