Nairobi, Kenya, January 24, 2008 -- Weeks after Kenya's disputed elections, aid workers are reporting increasing abuse against women and children as violence continues to affect the poor and vulnerable.
Thousands have fled the post-election violence, only to face the threat of rape and abuse in displacement camps, according to Rhoda Kasimbu, a child rights advocate and aid worker for World Vision.
"Displaced people continue to camp in temporary, makeshift structures that do not meet international humanitarian standards," Kasimbu says. "Moreover, these camps are unsafe for children and women since they sleep together in the same areas as men--increasing the likelihood of abuse. This situation is poised to lead to post-traumatic challenges and the children need assistance to recover fully," Kasimbu adds.
World Vision has established Child-Friendly Spaces in displacement camps to provide children with a sense of normalcy and give them a safe place to play and participate in structured activities. The Christian aid agency is also providing families with milk, bread, maize meal and lentils, as well as blankets, mosquito nets, water containers, tarpaulins, soap and kitchen sets, assisting nearly 155,000 displaced people in all.
More than 60,000 children are among the estimated 250,000 people who have been displaced from their homes. Twenty percent of Kenya's children are already underweight for their age, and access to water, food, healthcare and education is difficult in impoverished communities. Now they face even greater, potentially life-threatening challenges.
"In one day, Nairobi Women's Hospital admitted eight girls who had been raped; the youngest was 12-years-old," Kasimbu reported.
World Vision aid workers in the displaced camps report that children--notably those from Nairobi's sprawling Kibera slum--are arriving at food distribution sites hungry and traumatized by their recent experiences.
"Children in Kibera are already the most vulnerable in Kenyan society," says World Vision's Africa Vice President, Wilfred Mlay. "Now they have been uprooted and they are sleeping in the open. Their access to medical facilities and clean water is even more limited. The death rate in Kibera--which has always been among the highest in the country--will probably rise even higher."
Meanwhile, the turmoil in Kenya continues to affect the flow of humanitarian supplies to regional hotspots such as Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and southern Sudan. Neighboring countries also depend on Kenya for services, manufactured goods and the use of the port in Mombasa for the flow of trade, making Kenya's continued instability a threat to the region's economic development.
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.
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World Vision staff in Kenya are available for interviews. Please contact Rachel Wolff at 253.394.2214 or RWolff@worldvision.org or Casey Calamusa at 206.310.5476.
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.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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