Dekha Ibrahim Abdi’s path took her from teaching at a rural Kenyan school to being renowned as a global peacemaker. In 2007, she received the Right Livelihood Award (often referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize), which honors "those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." Simon J. A. Mason is senior researcher and head of the Mediation Support Team at the Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich.