It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace

By Rye Barcott

An inspirational true story of a Marine who finds his calling empowering youth in one of the largest slums in Africa.

'The best book to land on my desk this year' Bobby Ghosh, Time

'A tremendous story of the power of friendship, love, and the transforming grace of God' Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

This is a book about two forms of service that may appear contradictory: war-fighting and peacemaking, military service and social entrepreneurship.

In 2001, Marine officer-in-training Rye Barcott cofounded a nongovernmental organization with two Kenyans in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Their organization-Carolina for Kibera-grew to become a model of a global movement called participatory development, and Barcott continued volunteering with CFK while leading Marines in dangerous places.

It Happened on the Way to War is a true story of heartbreak, courage, and the impact that small groups of committed citizens can make in the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781408833681

Rye Barcott

Rye Barcott founded the renowned non-governmental organization Carolina for Kibera (CFK) with Salim Mohamed and Tabitha Atieno Festo while he was an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduation, he served as a Marine for five years on active duty. In 2006 ABC World News named then Captain Barcott a Person of the Week and Person of the Year for his dual service to Kibera and the Marine Corps. As a Reynolds Social Entrepreneurship Fellow, he earned master's degrees in business and public administration from Harvard University. He is currently a member of the World Learning Board of Trustees and a TED Fellow living in Charlotte, North Carolina. @ryebarcott

Reviews for It Happened on the Way to War

[olegalca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book - surprising to me because the last book I read about an American traveling to third world countries to "do good" was awful (don't read Ashley Judd's memoir)! Even though I grew up in a very mission-minded church, I had not heard of Kibera in Kenya and was glad to have the chance to learn more about Nairobi's slums. I found Rye Barcott's style very engaging and he did not spend too much time "tooting his own horn" but rather describing the people he met and bringing us alongside with caring about them.

One criticism I do have is that I would have liked to know more details about how he ended up in the Marines in the first place. He did spend a few pages talking about his upbringing but I couldn't quite put my finger on why the Marines instead of a non-profit. I did appreciate his internal struggles between his two responsibilities and maybe this book will encourage other men and women who have served in the armed forces and loved the country they served in, to return to it after the fact to make positive change.

**I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review**

[motivatedmomma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am in awe of Rye Barcott and his book, "It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace. This memoir tells the story of Barcott , young college grad and soon to be a Marine and his fortuitous journey to Kiberra -- one of the worst slums in Africa. Barcott wanted to research ethnic violence. Once there, Barcott develops the nonprofit, Carolina for Kiberra with the whopping sum of 26 dollars! This memoir tells the duel story of the development of the nonprofit and its amazing accomplishments along with the development of Barcott as a Marine and the predicaments of keeping the two goals separate but equal. Barcott has told an amazing true story-- he gives me inspiration in our next generation.

[hippygirl26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book and I wasn't sure if I would. It was very well written and thought provoking. It seemed like an honest and relatable book. I think I might be able to get my husband to read this book, which would be quite an accomplishment!

[bibliophileofalls · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about what one person can accomplish based on his experiences in Africa when he was a young man. He used these experiences to found a non-profit organization to help people of Kenya especially in the slums of Kibera, where living conditions were unimaginably atrocious. During a time span of approximately ten years, Rye Barcott worked part of the year in Kenya and also attended college and served a stint in the Marines. He graduated from the University of Carolina and the organization he founded was called CFK (Carolina for Kibera). He taught the youth of Kibera to play soccer which ultimately showed them how to get along with each other. Through his efforts CFK has established a health clinic in an area of Kenya which had virtually no medical care prior to this. CFK has grown to a large, effective organization with donations coming from the Gates Foundation and other philanthropic organizations. This was a very inspiring book and I recommend it to anyone who likes to read about people with perseverance and tenacity accomplishing good in the world.

[brinnafrieds · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rye's book was honest, engaging and inspiring. Rye has juggled the very different, and sometimes conflicting worlds of serving in the military and running a non profit. It wasn't the most entertaining books I've ever read, but I loved Rye's raw honesty of the difficulty of change. Change doesn't happen without a fight, and without many setbacks, and he makes the very clear.

[dele2451 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Being a 20-year military member as well as a seasoned veteran of volunteer work for nonprofit organizations, I felt a special attraction to Mr Barcott's story. His subject matter could not be more important or timely and he covers it in an accessible fashion. I applaud young Rye not only for his numerous humanitarian and service accomplishments, but for taking the time to commit his story to paper and get it published--a sometimes tedious process that many very busy people let fall to the wayside. I particularly appreciated his candor in sharing his fears (for his personal safety as well as those of his nonprofit), uncertainties and occasional miscalculations with the larger audience as they help others who hope to pursue similar projects. If I was forced to come up with a criticism of the book, it would be that the "aw shucks, I'm just a regular guy who kind of fell into this by accident' tone ran thin after a while. Thankfully, he started growing out of it by the end of his Iraq tour. I applaud and understand the attempt at humility, but one trait of good leaders is accepting genuine praise gracefully and without embarrassment. Otherwise this is a heroic, inspirational and important story that I would confidently recommend to just about anybody except the family members of military members preparing to deploy overseas. Thank you, Mr Barcott and Early Reviewers!

[co_coyote · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I returned from a month spent in Ethiopia to find this book on my desk. Barcott, as an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina, formed an organization to support youth in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, a neighbor of Ethiopia. It was fascinating to read this book and compare it with my own experience walking the streets of Addis Ababa. Everything about it rang true to me, including the ambiguity, the difficulty in understanding another culture, the uncertain nature of what you thought you believed strongly. But, clearly, this is a young man who is willing to confront the world head on, with his mind and heart wide open to the experience. Sometimes the problems of Africa seem so large as to be unmanageable. Barcott doesn't let that stop him, and plunges in anyway. Good for him and good for anyone who is willing to follow his inspiring example.

[hays1981 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was absolutely amazing. A great read if you liked Little Princes or Not on our watch. Rye is an amazing person struggling between two worlds that have such different effects on the world. He set up a NGO at such a young age and is impressive. I have suggested all my friends read this book and donate $26. I know I did!

[ljpower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is always interesting to hear of an individual who is inspired to take on a project of great magnitude in order to improve humanity. Rye Barcott has given us an uplifting memoir of his efforts to initiate change in Kiberia, Kenya.He is not alone in his quest and has the help of several people, notably Salim and Tabitha, who show him how just a small amount of goodwill can reap huge benefits. But it is his simple idea of finding and promoting community leaders in an urban slum that brings so many people together to focus on the problem. Their support and the help of the right mentors lead him to his life's work, while at the same time serving his country in Iraq. The challenges and successes make this story so inspiring and his path also lead to his own self-discovery and introspection, of which he gave us only a small glimpse. I would like to learn more about his original motivation and how it changed over the decade but I foresee more to come from this author.

[momtorghj · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book - surprising to me because the last book I read about an American traveling to third world countries to "do good" was awful (don't read Ashley Judd's memoir)! Even though I grew up in a very mission-minded church, I had not heard of Kibera in Kenya and was glad to have the chance to learn more about Nairobi's slums. I found Rye Barcott's style very engaging and he did not spend too much time "tooting his own horn" but rather describing the people he met and bringing us alongside with caring about them.One criticism I do have is that I would have liked to know more details about how he ended up in the Marines in the first place. He did spend a few pages talking about his upbringing but I couldn't quite put my finger on why the Marines instead of a non-profit. I did appreciate his internal struggles between his two responsibilities and maybe this book will encourage other men and women who have served in the armed forces and loved the country they served in, to return to it after the fact to make positive change.

[cee2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rye Barcott is a young man who wants to make a difference in the world and he does it with a rare balancing act. As he follows in his father's martial footsteps by becoming a Marine Corps officer, he also manages to start and enlist support for CFK, an NGO in Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya.What I liked most about this book is Barcott's honest sharing of his thoughts and his failures, as well as his successes. He gives credit to others, where it is due. His plan is not one of trickle-down development but to work with the people of Kibera, to listen to their plans, to honor and support their intelligence and skills. It was also an eye-opener to see how the Marines found ways to allow him to continue his work in Kibera, starting with his ROTC days through his five years of service.The book is fascinating, uplifting, and well worth one's reading time.

[wbc3_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am fascinated by books about how a single person can have a major impact on the work (Three Cups of Tea and Mountains beyond Mountains are favorites of mine). This books tells the story of the author and his work in Kibera, Kenya—one of the worst slums in the world. As an ROTC marine in college at UNC, he begins a program to help Kibera. Eventually, what he started grows and has a real impact. The book starts out great and really held my interest. The latter parts of the book, however, deal more with his disillusionment as he serves with the marines in Iraq. Though still interesting, it is not nearly as compelling. It took some effort to complete, but I felt it was worth doing so. This book is worth reading to understand what impact people, even young people can have if they are willing to make sacrifices and work hard.