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TEGLA LOROUPE (KENYA)

Friday August 26 2011

TEGLA LOROUPE (KENYA)
Instead of basking in glory and enjoying her track fortunes alone, this 38-year-old Kenyan Olympic medallist is busy fighting cattle rustling and cultivating peace in the greater Horn of Africa region.

The struggle for limited resources among the marginalised communities in pastoralist areas has led to devastating effects on the community: Perpetual insecurity, killings, rapes, socio-economic stagnation and regional underdevelopment.

Tackling cattle rustling in various regions of Kenya has proved too tough a call for successive governments for decades. However, Tegla Loroupe is tackling this issue head-on, and persuading hard-core rustlers to lay down their arms.

Through her Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation (TLPF), which she founded in 2003, this soft-spoken woman has managed to reconcile warring communities from Kenya, Uganda and Sudan who have been participating in annual Tegla Loroupe Peace Run.

She has also established a school, the Tegla Loroupe Peace Academy, and an orphanage.

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