VZCZCXRO1655
RR RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #2164/01 2561326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121326Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7051
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 0396
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 002164 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KPAO SO
SUBJECT:  Somalia - Youth Enrichment Program on the Border 
 
REF: NAIROBI 1324 
 
NAIROBI 00002164  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  Following on the success of the inaugural Somalia Youth 
Enrichment Program (YEP) in April (reftel), the Somalia Unit, 
including the embedded MIST team, conducted a second YEP in the 
border town of Mandera from August 25-28.  Forty-five mostly Marehan 
clan Somali youth came across the border to join 18 mixed clan 
Kenyan youth for a week of sports, cultural activities, and 
discussions.  The youth ranged in age from 11 and 26 years old; most 
were between 15 and 17 years old.  Feedback from the participants 
and media coverage have both been extremely positive.  Atmospherics 
and dynamics of the week will be reported septel.  End summary. 
 
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Activities 
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¶2.  The August 25-28 Somalia Youth Enrichment Program (YEP) in 
Mandera, on the border of Somalia across from Bela-Hawa in Gedo 
Region, proved to be a tremendously successful follow-on to our 
inaugural YEP in April of this year (reftel).  With the cooperation 
of the Kenyan authorities in Mandera, 45 mostly Marehan Somali 
youth, 11 of whom were females, spent five days and four nights with 
18 Kenyan youth, most of whom were ethnic Somali of various clans. 
The young people ranged in age from 11 to 26, with most between the 
ages of 15 and 17.  Activities included soccer, volleyball, and 
handball.  In addition, the youth participated in a Qaranic 
recitation contest, an art contest, a poetry contest, and wrote 
letters to leaders of their choosing, appealing for peace in 
Somalia. 
 
¶3.  The youth came from a variety of organizations in Somalia, 
including schools, sports organizations, and youth groups.  We also 
had several youth who were reformed militia, having turned away from 
violence and now engaging in productive activities in Somalia.  The 
youth, initially suspicious of one another and their American hosts, 
quickly grew into a cohesive unit, supporting one another in the 
activities and trading ideas in both the formal activities and the 
discussions that occurred during meals, break times, and in the 
evenings. 
 
--------------------- 
Logistical Challenges 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  The fact that the program took place in Mandera, over 1,000 
kilometers from Nairobi over mostly unpaved roads, made the 
preparations and execution a challenge.  The Somalia Unit's PD 
Assistant traveled to Mandera for a week of preparation in July, 
working on details such as lodging, food and immigration 
formalities.  Most significantly, we were able to secure permission 
from the Kenyan authorities to have the Somali youth cross the 
border, which is officially closed, and remain in Kenya for a week. 
The only condition placed on the activity was that Kenyan youth had 
to participate. 
 
¶5.  The organizations through which we worked to nominate the youth 
appeared to have gotten varying levels of information about the 
event from our primary point of contact in Somalia, resulting in 
students arriving in various states of preparedness.  Many of the 
students came with no provisions for the four nights at the school 
dormitory, so they depended on the jerseys we provided and the 
hygiene supplies we were able to purchase in Mandera.  The female 
participants were required to sleep in a different school from the 
males, so the program included transportation to and from the 
primary venue each morning and night. 
 
¶6.  Security proved to be an ongoing concern.  The Mandera 
authorities provided police presence to combat both hostile 
individuals and the Mandera youth who loitered around the school, 
and in fact became hostile when not given food or supplies that the 
program participants were given.  The septel cable on atmospherics 
will elaborate on this point. 
 
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Youth Reactions 
--------------- 
 
¶7.  The youth, after some initial suspicion about our motives for 
conducting the program, appeared to react very positively to the 
week of activities.  We were told by our Kenyan drivers, the school 
administrator, and others that the students asked many questions 
about why we were there.  After being told uniformly by each of the 
 
NAIROBI 00002164  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
above parties that our goals were to promote reconciliation in 
Somalia, focus on the role of youth in Somalia, and help the Somalis 
to rebuild Somalia, the youth seemed to become more open to us and 
to each other.  Several of the poems, peace letters, and art work 
proved extremely powerful.  Post will be exploring ways to compile 
these items and distribute them more widely both within the USG and 
within Somalia.  The youth also expressed great pride in receiving 
awards at the closing ceremony for the sports and cultural 
activities. 
 
--------------------- 
Results and Follow-up 
--------------------- 
 
¶8.  Media coverage of the event is ongoing, and has been very 
positive.  We had several media outlets at both the opening and 
closing ceremonies, and other media representatives at the 
activities during the week.  Even during the week, after the opening 
ceremony's coverage was aired, we began getting inquiries from 
farther inside Somalia about the program and how youth from other 
regions could participate.  In addition, the media covered the youth 
reading their peace letters.  We understand the impact of youth 
reading their letters and poems, imploring leaders to work more 
fervently for peace, had a significant impact among concerned 
parties in Somalia, Kenya's Northeast Province, and throughout the 
Horn of Africa. 
 
¶9.  While all of the youth certainly benefited from this program, we 
noted a corps of especially engaged youth who obviously provided 
some leadership among the youth.  We will remain engaged with those 
youth, hopefully visiting with them in Mandera on future trips and 
communicating via email and phone until such time as we can meet 
with them inside Somalia.  We anticipate providing some grants to 
the groups these youths represent, allowing to reach more into 
Somalia and working less with Kenya-based Somalis. 
 
¶10.  Support from the MIST team, both in terms of personnel and 
budget, allowed this program to develop into a significantly larger 
operation than envisioned.  We were able to increase the number of 
participants from thirty to over sixty.  We were also able to 
provide uniforms, art and writing supplies, and awards in the form 
of both medals and trophies.  This was an excellent example of the 
benefits afforded the Somalia Unit by the presence of the MIST team. 
 
¶11.  The Embassy and the Somalia Unit thank the Department for its 
support in conducting this program. 
 
RANNEBERGER