Nairobi, Kenya, January 8, 2008 As 250,000 Kenyans have been forced from their homes due to post-election violence and thousands more directly affected, Christian aid agency World Vision is providing food and relief supplies to sustain more than 150,000 vulnerable children and adults.
"Over the coming week, the humanitarian situation is likely to get worse," said World Vision's Emergency Advisor Nick Wasunna, speaking from Nairobi. "The longer families are too scared to return home, the longer they are living without basic needs such as food and clean water."
World Vision is partnering with the Kenya Red Cross Society to provide relief supplies and meet the immediate needs of affected people in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa and Kisumu. Distributions took place over the weekend to displaced people from the Kibera slum in Nairobi and those seeking shelter at a sports stadium near the Rift Valley.
In Nakuru's Afraha Stadium, World Vision has been providing milk, bread and lentils to families who fled volatile areas in the Rift Valley Province. The organization is also distributing blankets, mosquito nets, jerricans, tarpaulins, soap and kitchen sets to 3,000 people taking shelter in the stadium.
World Vision is calling for a cessation of hostilities, protection of children, women and other civilians, and safe passage of humanitarian staff in affected areas.
"One week of violence will no doubt impact people's lives for a long time," Wasunna said. "Incomes have been affected, particularly for those whose businesses have been destroyed or who rely on passing trade. Food prices in many areas have spiked and many people remain homeless."
World Vision is implementing a 30-day relief response and will continue working with communities to rebuild their lives over the long term. The organization has 800 staff members in Kenya; all but two are Kenyan nationals. However, dozens of staff who work in regional roles and support work in nearby Sudan and Somalia also are based in Kenya, and continued violence could hamper their ability to work in these neighboring countries.
World Vision has served in Kenya since 1974. Its long-term development programs in eight provinces include healthcare, education, advocacy, food security, water and sanitation and HIV and AIDS interventions.
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World Vision staff in Kenya are available for interviews. Please contact Rachel Wolff in the U.S. at 253.394.2214 or RWolff@worldvision.org or Anna Ridout in the UK at +44 (0) 7889 631613 or Patterson Siema in Kenya at +254 734 350 054.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Ghanian President and Africa Union chairman John Kufuor walks in front of the honour guard at Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Nairobi January 8, 2008. Kufuor arrived in Kenya on Tuesday ...
