As of late January, relief workers from the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee were distributing food, water, and other necessities to some 4,000 people in Kibera, one of Nairobi’s largest slums and the hub of much of the unrest that has wracked Kenya’s capital in recent days.
Kibera is home to about 1 million people, many of whom have suffered during the violence following the disputed presidential election in late December, said a report from CRWRC staff in the East African country.
Meanwhile, CRWRC is sending development workers back to Eldoret, a community in western Kenya that also has been the scene of violence, looting, and the burning of businesses and homes, said Andrew Ryskamp, director of CRWRC in the United States. The agency will now be able to assess the needs of people who are still without shelter and other necessities in Eldoret.
“Things remain at a tense stalemate in Kenya. There is relative calm, and yet there are reports of people being killed in the slum areas of Nairobi,” said Ryskamp, who speaks daily with CRC staff in Kenya.
Additional funds are needed in order to continue the relief efforts. To donate to the Kenya relief response, mark donations “Kenya Conflict” and mail them to CRWRC at 3475 Mainway, P.O. Box 5070, STN LCD 1, Burlington, ON, L7R 3Y8; or to CRWRC at 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49560. You can also donate online at www.crwrc.org.
About the Author
Chris Meehan is a freelance writer and commissioned pastor at Coit Community Church in Grand Rapids, Mich.
