Source:  www.assistnews.net

Date:  2008-01-30

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

KENYA (ANS) -- Kenya's spiralling descent into violence and chaos is hampering the work of the British Christian relief agency Tearfund and its partners in the country. In the worst affected areas workers have been confined to their houses due to violent clashes and looting.

Tearfund says that tear gas and water cannons have been fired on protesters trying to attend a recent banned opposition rally in Nairobi. Nationally hundreds of people are dead and tens of thousands are fleeing for safety.

Speaking from Nairobi, Peter Njuguna, Project Manager of St John's Community Centre, a Tearfund partner working in Nairobi's slum areas says, "The situation is very volatile here. I can hear gunshots from our office and the roads are blocked."

The insecurity is hampering access to vulnerable people with whom St Johns work. "We have 160 people living with Aids under our care but we cannot reach them. Our health clinic and work with vulnerable children was due to restart today but this is not possible because of clashes in the area,"Njuguna said.

The violence follows the victory of incumbent president Mwai Kibaki and claims by opposition rival Raila Odinga that he was denied the presidency due to vote rigging. The consequences have been widespread ethnic tension as the Kikuyu (Kibaki's tribe) and the Luo (Odinga's tribe) have clashed.

One of the most brutal acts reported so far has been the killing of at least 30 people taking shelter in a church that was set alight by a mob.

Tearfund says Kenya's insecurity has made the assessment of humanitarian needs difficult. The need for stability is pressing, underlined by the worrying proliferation of roadblocks run by vigilantes. It is feared that these roadblocks will have an effect on the distribution of food and humanitarian supplies if they continue.

Peter Njuguna continues, "I feel very frustrated and disappointed that we cannot carry out our work. We know there are families with very young children who need food, medication and shelter in one of our main project areas but we cannot reach them.

"We are taking the situation day by day at the moment. We cannot predict how things will go. But we hope for peace."

Outside of Nairobi, reports suggest many people in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret have been displaced and are in need of food, water and shelter. Ugandan officials also tell of families fleeing across the border.

Tearfund is encouraging people to pray that the ethnic violence and killing between the Luo and the Kikuyu will stop; that diplomatic pressure helps secure a peaceful end to the political impasse; that Tearfund staff and partners are safe and that the right leader for Kenya would have his position confirmed and that the country would be able to accept the result.

Displaced Kenyans in Uganda receive BWAid assistance

Kenyans in Uganda who fled the rioting in their country have received assistance from Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance.

The aid from the international Baptist organization was granted after an appeal from Hillary Wafula, a Baptist pastor in the border town of Busia, Uganda, where 1,700 Kenyan refugees are housed in a primary (elementary) school.

Another 2,500 displaced Kenyans are in the Ugandan town of Malaba, which also borders Kenya, and an estimated 3,000 are in several villages bordering the two east African countries. Five thousand displaced persons are on the Kenyan side of the town of Busia, "who can cross any time" into Uganda, said Wafula.

Wafula, in his letter to Alex Wanyama, General Secretary for the Baptist Union of Uganda, said, "One pastor who is hosting a number of Kenyans is overwhelmed by the number and the debts he is making to make them survive." He also reported that "a good number of Kenyans are residing with friends, relatives and well-wishers in border villages in Uganda, which is an unbearably heavy burden on the Ugandans."

The needs of the displaced Kenyans include food, medicine, shelter, and sanitation. "The Baptist churches in Busia and Malaba are appealing to our mother organization, Baptist Union of Uganda, and partners, to intervene and help the overwhelming burden we are experiencing in our homes and at churches," Wafula requested.

Riots broke out in Kenya, a previously stable democracy with the largest economy in East Africa, following a disputed general election on December 27. The violence, sparked by the election results that declared incumbent president Mwai Kibaki as the winner, but which were rejected by the main opposition challenger, Raila Odinga, has left more than 500 people dead and approximately 255,000 displaced.

Tensions reportedly remain high in Kenya.

BWAid has sent US$5,000 to Uganda to assist the displaced Kenyans. This follows on US$10,000 that was sent during the week of January 7 to the All Africa Baptist Fellowship for relief efforts in Kenya.

Donations to the Kenyan relief effort may be made to BWAid's Emergency Response Fund at www.bwanet.org/bwaid .

Kenya: ADRA Expands Aid to Violence-displaced Families

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is continuing its response to the civil unrest in Kenya, providing emergency food and non-food items for an estimated 15,000 Kenyans after violence stemming from the country's recent controversial presidential elections forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

ADRA's office in Kenya is working with the Catholic Development Agency, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Kenya Red Cross and other local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) in communities within the provinces of Nairobi, Rift Valley, and Nyanza, to help displaced persons return home, while providing additional assistance, including food, water and sanitation, clothing, blankets, medical supplies, and post-trauma counseling.

ADRA Kenya will provide food and non-food items to affected families seeking shelter within and outside of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), including rations of maize grain, beans, corn-soya blend, vegetable oil, and salt. Children under five and the elderly will receive nutritional food supplements.

Clothing, blankets, mosquito nets (especially for pregnant women), bars of soap, sanitary napkins, water purification supplies, and kitchen sets, will be distributed according to a needs assessment and mapping conducted in cooperation with the United Nations, the Government of Kenya, and partner NGOs.

In partnership with the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton and the Kendu Adventist Hospital, ADRA is providing pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and treatment for those affected by the violence in the Kisumu-Kisii, Eldoret-Kapsabet-Kitale, and Eldoret-Burnt Forest-Nakaru areas. In addition, post-trauma counselling will be provided in various camps and impoverished neighbourhoods.

The Kenyan government estimates that more than 600 people have been killed and more than 500,000 people in the targeted areas-many of whom are women and children-have been displaced or otherwise affected by the continuing violence. All beneficiaries of ADRA's assistance have lost property and/or family members. Thousands are being sheltered in IDP camps or are waiting to be transferred to a new location, while others who live in the poorer areas of their cities have little or no access to food.

Over the past weeks, ADRA has coordinated relief efforts with the Kenya Red Cross and local partners, such as Food for the Hungry International, World Relief, and Catholic Relief Services, to distribute supplies of food to those affected by Kenya's civil unrest. ADRA distributed more than 50 metric tons of food, along with stoves, charcoal, and cooking sets to violence-affected communities, including the impoverished Nairobi neighbourhoods of Jamhuri Park and Kibera. ADRA transported an additional 150 metric tons of food and supplies to other affected communities, including Karura, Kariobangi, and Dandora.

ADRA Kenya's expanded emergency response, which began January 14, is coordinated by ADRA International and funded in partnership with the ADRA supporting offices in Finland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada; the ADRA Africa Regional Office; and the regional Seventh-day Adventist Church office.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, or ethnicity.

Archbishop urges support for Kenya

ANS has also received a report from Alison Preston that the Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, has called for Australian support for people affected by political unrest in Kenya this month.

Dr Freier cancelled a planned January visit to Anglican community development partners in Kenya after claims of election rigging by the country's major opposition party sparked violent protests in one of Africa's most stable countries.

The United Nations estimates that 600 people have been killed since the December 27th election, including 17 people who sought refuge in a church that was set on fire in the western town of Eldoret.

At least 250,000 people have been displaced from their homes, with church compounds overflowing with people who fled the violence, including sexual assault and targeted ethnic attacks.

The unrest has been fuelled by tensions related to poverty, migration, and government corruption.

"The impact of this unrest will have long-term consequences on the most vulnerable people, and Australians have an opportunity to ensure the church in Kenya supports those affected," said Dr Philip Freier.

"I encourage a prayerful and generous response to support people in Kenya at this time," Dr Freier said.

Australian Anglican aid and development agency, AngliCORD, has launched an emergency appeal to support church agencies in Kenya who are working together to provide emergency food, water, blankets, and tents to displaced people.

Professional counseling and pastoral care will be offered to people traumatized and or sexually assaulted during the unrest.

Emergency funds raised through AngliCORD will enable members of the Action by Churches Together Kenya Forum to reach at least 25,000 people, targeting those worse affected in western Kenya and Nairobi's slums.

Churches and church leaders play an influential role in the predominantly Christian nation of Kenya, with some accused of forming political alliances.

Four churches have been burned down, and the Anglican Archbishop of Kenya has warned that some people are using the political unrest as a cover for other agendas.

"Those torching churches and the people inside are criminals, with no reverence to God," said Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi. "It is our prayer that the churches will raise their voices to call for real peace."

Kenyan theologian Jesse Mugambi is also concerned that well-placed community expectations for good governance are being manipulated, saying "it is a tragedy to confuse democracy with anarchy."

Dr Freier and Mrs Joy Freier spent much of January in the Middle East and Africa visiting community development partners of AngliCORD and the Anglican Board of Mission (ABM).

One missionary's experience

Meanwhile, a missionary in the area reports that he is stuck in a town called Kisii.

"We left Kisumu town yesterday where I had gone to bury a friend of mine. We left Nairobi on December 27th. We have been sleeping in the car all along. We spent the day on the road fighting some rowdy thugs on the way. Two people were shot dead and our convoy of over 15 cars was stoned.

He asks for the church in Australia to really pray for them. "The thing is tilting to be one major clash between tribes in this nation."

He has also not seen his wife and baby since he last saw them in Nairobi.

"I terribly miss them but I can't dare venture out of this town. We will simply be butchered. I have no food, no access to clean water or anything. My mobile phone is off, but I have the joy of the Lord.

"We hope to come out of this situation alive so that we can be a testimony to the world."

The missionary explains that: "The truth is that it is not the President's tribe that is under attack but the whole Kenyan people. If you can get this to the press in your nation, let the world know of the truth. We all know whom we elected as President and who stole the votes and trumpled down the democratic rights of the people of this wonderful nation."

He concludes: "At the moment we are waiting for word from the government representatives to see if we can be evacuated tonight or any other time to our homes, but it's not easy. Many policemen are dead and they fear venturing out there."