The Swahili have a saying; “mwana wa muhunzi asiposana, hufukuta” (Should the child of a smith not learn his father’s craft, they will at least learn how to rekindle the furnace). The saying is about the power of mentorship. It means there is some special skill, however minute, you learn by staying close to an experienced person.

The story of alternative justice systems (AJS) is partly the story of going back to our roots and asking ourselves how our forefathers solved their disputes then after picking the best practices, applying them in the modern-day contexts we live in.

It is time we think seriously about SGBV. Thus, in this edition we we take the position of potential victims writing to say, “We wish to inform you that tomorrow we shall be attacked at our safest spaces. Kindly respond!”

This publication comes at a time when we are celebrating 10 years since theThis publication comes at a time when we are celebrating 10 years since thepromulgation of the Constitution of Kenya (2010). There is consensus that it isthe most progressive constitution in the world for protection of human rights andfundamental freedoms as manifested in its bill of rights.

In this issue, we thus share with you our one-year story; the road travelled soIn this issue, we thus share with you our one-year story; the road travelled sofar. In doing so, we hope to signpost where we are headed as we get ready tolaunch the activities for the second year. Yet our success story is also your story. It is with you that we have achieved allthat we see as milestones in the project. We however bear the mis-steps as asole responsibility and promise to correct all that we can, in due course.