Dr. Karambu L. Ringera is a lecturer at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of International Peace Initiatives (IPI: www.ipeacei.org).
A native of Kenya, she holds a Ph.D. in Human Communication from the University of Denver, Colorado. She also holds a Masters degree in Media from Natal University, South Africa and a Master of Theological Studies (social justice concentration) from the Iliff School of Theology, Colorado. She received her Bachelor of Education degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Ringera vied for the North Imenti parliamentary seat (www.karambu.com) during the 2007 general elections, a constituency that had not had a woman candidate run for office since independence. At serious risk to her safety, when the post-election violence broke out, she conducted peace dialogues in the IDP (internally displaced persons camps), and this led many displaced women to start peace building initiatives in the camps.
International Peace Initiatives (IPI) is a U.S. and Kenya based organisation that is dedicated to supporting and funding initiatives that mitigate the effects of war, disease, poverty, and discrimination. IPI houses and provides for orphans and vulnerable children, teaches peace education, and supports African grassroots organisations and community leaders. The IPI tools are education, enterprise and empowerment.
Through IPI, Dr. Ringera works with grassroots women’s groups and individuals to develop agency in order to strengthen communities. She strives to create social change through empowerment of those most affected by poverty, disease, and under-education. Because Dr. Ringera causes and directs the work on the ground, the funds IPI channels to help individuals and groups get to the targeted projects and are used as they are intended.
Dr. Ringera’s research interest areas are women and peacebuilding, development communication for social change and intercultural communication.