Lighting up the darkness

Opening up Camp at Nairobi Chapel

Two weeks ago we felt the urgent need to open up our tent to IDPs because of the congestion and disease outbreak in the camps that were existing. Several areas like Naivasha, Thika and Limuru had also experienced fresh violence as a reaction to the events in the country, particularly the deaths of the two MPs.

The government had also announced that it would like to shut down Jamhuri Camp. When they first tried to close it, we had over 1500 people who we did not know what to do with and who had no where to go. So we came up with the plan to open up our tent. We prepared our site to host the people. They were to occupy our youth tent. We praise God for the goodwill and support with which many members of the congregation embraced the proposed initiative to open up our tents to the Internally Displaced People (IDPs). We were overwhelmed by the response that you showed. Many people brought in food supplies and others came forward to volunteer to set up and run the camp.

Redirected Efforts
Within a few days of our making the decision to open camp at Nairobi Chapel, several bus loads of displaced people arrived from Thika and Limuru to the Jamhuri Camp. So Jamhuri Camp was not closed. Since then people have continued to arrive in busloads.

At our tents, we have remained prepared for any eventuality, that if the Jamhuri camp were to close suddenly or if there was trouble somewhere then we would allow people to stay in our tents. Our staff and volunteers continue to be engaged at Jamhuri. They are offering counselling services, helping with food distribution and preparing people to transition out of the camp.

Still our staff and volunteer teams still went out to Kirathimo, Thika, Tigoni, Nakuru and other outlying camps to meet with the people. They offered to help those who felt they were insecure in those places to move to our tents. We found out that those who were already settled in camps did not want to move from one camp to another. They feared that if they moved they might be targeted. They had other more pressing requests for us. We therefore redirected our relief efforts to the things they asked us to do:  

1.     To resettle them into safer residential areas in Nairobi and help them start businesses to support their families and move on with life.

2.      To find Schools for their children: Many parents told us that it didn’t matter what they went through in the camps. But they cared what happened to their children’s education. They have been asking that we take their children to school, especially those who are in Std 8 or in High schools. As of now we have settled 11 high school girls from Nakuru and Eldoret in a school into a boarding school Nairobi. We are resettling another 50 Standard eight children into schools by the end of this week. The Standard eights are due to do their national exam at the end of this year, and the registration takes place during this term. We also have a waiting list—and the numbers are rising—of 150 Standard eight children that must go to school within the next two weeks if they are to make it for their standard eight exams.

3.      To provide Transport to their rural homes: Many wanted us to help them get secure transport to take them to their rural homes. Those who were in Thika, Tigoni or Kirathimo wanted to go to Western Kenya, and those in Nakuru and Eldoret wanted to come out to Nairobi, Central Province or Eastern to look for relatives.

A lot of work has gone into each of these initiatives. We will be posting up a detailed update on each of these and call for further engagement. There is also more going on simultaneously in other departments, all in response to the call to our leaders made that we become the salt and light in our country at this hour. Watch this space.

The task has only just began
We thank God that there is calm in the country, though it is an uneasy calm. With the semblance of peace, Nairobi, indeed most of the country appears to be back to normal. However, for all those who lost loved ones, whose businesses were destroyed, for those whose homes were burnt or were kicked out in Eldoret, Molo, Burnt Forest, Nakuru, Thika, Kibera Limuru and elsewhere life is not back to normal. It cannot be, for many cannot go back to their homes until such a time as they are assured that it is safe to do so. They cannot make a living; the rains are here but they cannot plant. Their children cannot go back to schools. It will take a long time for them to rebuild their lives. The Lord continues to call on us to stand in the gap, to do whatever we can to communicate his love to them. And particularly we need to assist those who are most vulnerable in this situation, the children.

Thank your for prayer and support for this work.                                                                                                                         

Halfway homes Initiative
We have been running two halfway homes in Karen. We first opened these homes for from Rift Valley who were transitioning to their families in Nairobi or Central. Now we have been using these homes to prepare those who are stuck in camps to move on. Nearly 80 people have come and gone thro the houses. All those who come through are totally overwhelmed by this guesture of generosity of hosting them in a proper home for a few days.

Screening for the halfway home
We have a ground team that is doing the screening and selecting the people who really need to go through the halfway homes. We get the residents from Jamhuri showground, Kirathimo and Thika camps and also those from Nakuru and Eldoret who need to transition.

From Jamhuri camp our team is getting the most vulnerable, that is those with young children, teenage mothers who are between 13 to 20yrs and those who are unwell.

Life at the halfway houses
We are turning it into a proper home setting, with proper care and love from the people of God. It’s not like the Camps where they have to live in congested settings and share meagre resources. We provide proper meals and all that they need to make life look normal, including medical care and counselling. That way we help those who are deeply traumatised feel like they can live again, and soon enough they are able to move on. Because of this we can only take a limited number of families in any one home at any given time.

We are also helping them to heal and prepare to reconcile with people from other communities. We disciple them, and some have even come to Christ as a result of the kindness showed to them. The halfway houses have people from different tribes and they are all learning to live with one another.

The halfway houses have been hosting the people for up to two weeks, but from now on we will turn them into quick transition homes, where they come and live for just three days, then we send them away and take a new lot from Jamhuri grounds. That way we will be able to transition people faster.

                      
Resettlement
Once people are ready to move on we are getting houses for them in areas where they will be safe. We look for and hire the house for a month, buy food and household items and help them to settle in. Then we help some get casual jobs like cleaning clothes or house help work. We help others to start a small business to sustain themselves and their families. It’s costing about Ksh 10, 000 to resettle in a family.  

We are not only resettling those who come through our halfway homes. There are some people from Jamhuri who said they just needed help to get a new home. Some had casual jobs that they could go back to or businesses they could restart elsewhere. To these types of people we gave money for housing in safer areas. We would ask them to identify a house and our team on the ground would go and pay housing for them and settle them in with household basics.We have settled about 40 families this way.

Transport to Rural homes
There are many people that have been arriving at Jamhuri camp in buses from parts of central province. Most of these did not want to stay at Jamhuri. They just wanted help to return to their homes in Western Kenya and Nyanza. We have helped those who want to return to their homes to do so.  

Finding relatives
There are some people in Jamhuri camp who have relatives in different parts of the country but had no money to go to those relatives, or didn’t know where to start looking. Our team on the ground has helped them to trace their family members and reunite them. For some it turned out that even the relatives were concerned for them but didn’t know where they were or didn’t have the ability to come looking for them in Nairobi.

Jamhuri
Many of people remaining in Jamhuri used to run small roadside business in Kibera. A few owned houses that they let out and made their living. When the houses were burnt and they were kicked out, they had nothing to go back to. They still don’t have any other life elsewhere. Kibera was all their life. Some have tried to go back, but as soon as they are discovered they are threatened or are kicked out even before they can settle in their former homes. One man went and came back wounded.

Our ground team is screening them to see the different ways they can be helped. We are also screening children to see which ones genuinely need help to get back to school.  Since there are other organisations like orphanages or homes for the handicapped, we are also networking with them, to place those children who need that kind of help.  

The biggest request from those who are in camps is for us to help their children get back to school. We will be telling you more about that.

Congregation involvement
Many of you have continued to give generously in cash and in Kind. We depend on those food donations to run the halfway homes and also to give to those who walk to our tents to ask for food donations. Several of you pledged to support children get back to school. We have been able to send back at least 22 children to school using those donations, paying school fees, buying them uniforms and school provisions.

It has also been so encouraging to hear stories what members of our congregation have been doing at Jamhuri camp. Some have just gone to the camp to spend time with the people there. That ministry of presence makes a big difference to people who had well ordered lives but have now been robbed even of basic privacy. Thank you to those of you who have done that.  Ekklesia groups have gone there and offered to help families and sponsor children to school. Some of you have offered jobs to some people there, such as cleaners in the offices, house helps, and farm workers.

Little and big ways in which you can help immediately

Provisions for the halfway homes: Please continue to bring in perishable food items on Sundays or any day to the tent. We need bread and milk, vegetables, flour, rice etc. You do not have to bring a lot if you do not have it. Just remember to buy an extra packet of any of these things when you shop for your home.

Car: Our ground staff and volunteers would be able to do so much more of the relief work if they had cars to get around. Would you please consider donating your car to us for the next three months?

Computers: we have many volunteers helping with the relief administration work. Please facilitate them to do much by donating a computer, even if temporarily untill this work is done.  

School fees: There are still many parents out in Nakuru asking that we help them get their children back to school, until they can get back onto their feet and can support themselves. Please consider mobilising support for a child with school fees for a year. Look out for more details on this.

We praise God from whom all blessings flow. And we praise him for making all his people generous towards those who are in need now. God bless you!