Islamist gunmen attacked a passenger bus in Kenya earlier this week. Their goal was to kill the Christian passengers.  They failed because Muslim passengers on the bus said no.

A local governor told Kenyan media that the passengers refused to split into groups by religion, telling the militants “to kill them together or leave them alone.”

This act of solidarity is incredibly brave when the attackers had already killed two people, including the bus driver.

Al Shabab militants in the region have a history of attacking civilian groups and specifically killing the Christian civilians while ignoring or freeing Muslims. This happened in the April attack at the Garissa University College that killed 148 people and last year when another passenger bus was attacked, resulting in the death of 28 non-Muslims.

In a world where militants are imposing extreme versions of religious governance in the regions controlled by ISIS, and groups like Al Shabab are killing Christians simply for being alive, the solidarity shown this week in Kenya should be an inspiration to us all.

The 17 Global Goals lists Peace and Justice as goal number 16. Creating a world where people are free from violence and able to send their children to school and find employment is essential to ending extreme poverty.

Say thank you to the brave bus passengers in Kenya by making the Global Goals your New Year’s Resolution in TAKE ACTION NOW.