sarah’s place

Kenya’s president and opposition leader are from rival tribes. They’re still in tense talks about power sharing while unrest still simmers in Nairobi’s slums and rural areas. But for many Kenyans, now is the time for healing, reconciliation and getting back to work.

Tony Gakuo is a Kikuyu musician living in Nairobi. Despite having friends from other tribes, when the fighting was at its worst in January Tony became so angry about attacks on members of his tribe, that he considered joining the fighters.

Tony now says he’s gotten past most of that anger. He and one of his Luo friends, Moses Odhiambo, and other Kenyans hope to move past the tribal divisions and resurrect their friendships.

Here is the music video, “Wakenya Pamoja”, Tony helped make about Kenyan Unity.

The tension, unrest and violence continue in Kenya. Here is an update from our nairobi team leader:

This past week has been a cycle of attacks and counter attacks by the different ethnic groups.

While the Kalenjins are attacking Kikuyus in Molo and the Rift Valley, the Kikuyus are in turn attacking and driving out all the Luos, Luhyas and Kalenjins in Nakuru, Naivasha and other parts of Central Province where they are the majority.

For us, these events are now very close to home. As I write, the police station right next to our apartment is now home to about 6000 IDPs [Internally Displaced People] who have fled the farms and tea factories where they have worked and lived for years. They have gotten messages and leaflets that they will be attacked this weekend so they have all ran to the police station for protection.

The large increase in the number of these men, women, and children has overwhelmed the Red Cross. …[Last] Monday…there were a little over 400 displaced people at the same police station, as I mentioned above there are now over 6000 there.

Please continue to pray for Kenya and for our Nairobi team as they seek to meet the needs of Kenyan refugees.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, have met for the first time since last month’s disputed presidential election. Click here to read the entire article.

A brief summary of the situation as of Thursday noon GMT:

While in Nairobi there are demonstrations and negotiations and even international efforts for mediation, in the more rural areas far outside of Nairobi the violence is escalating.

In the Western area of Kenya, called the Rift Valley, there is the highest level of violence and tribal bitterness. Houses are being burned at night time, and there are over 300,000 displaced persons who have fled from their homes to what they consider safer towns. This has created a refugee crisis.

International Teams has team members in the town of “M” in the Rift Valley, and partners in “E” and “N” - all in the Rift Valley. We also have teams in Nairobi working with refugees, youth ministry, and women’s ministry. The teams in Nairobi are in the midst of great tension and even moving from neighborhoods for fear of potential violence. The teams in the Rift Valley are actually in the middle of present violence.

Please pray for all of our teams - and especially for those in and around “M”. Each night they can see fires burning, and are concerned that localized violence might quickly spread.

“KENYA RULERS REJECT OUTSIDE HELP”

The Kenyan government has again turned down international efforts to broker a solution to the crisis triggered by disputed elections. . . . tension remains high as the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) prepares to begin three days of anti-government demonstrations on Wednesday.
click here to read the entire “article.

“KENYA FACES MORE PROTESTS”

Kenya’s opposition has called three days of fresh election protests, but police say they will not be allowed.
click here to view the video report (2:11 min).

“UN WARNS AID NEED MAY GROW”

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 255,000 had been forced from their homes and that malnutrition was now a growing risk.
click here to read the entire article.

Yesterday I took out-of-town friends to visit the Somali Mall in south Minneapolis. Each time I visit this mall I eagerly anticipate the sights, aromas and sounds of an eastern bazaar that will flood my senses. It’s like walking into another country. And while we’re there, we’re the foreigners. I and my friends look different from everyone else. It’s generally pretty easy to strike up a conversation with shopkeepers. But there are usually a few who send questioning glances our way. If that makes us feel a little uncomfortable, that’s okay. We should all feel what it’s like to be a foreigner once in a while. So, I’ll keep going and taking friends with me.
inside the Somali Mall

Today I called Northwest Airlines again just to confirm our wonderfully flexible rebooking options (they were confirmed).

The agent I spoke with wondered where in Nairobi we were going to visit. I told him Limuru & Eastleigh. He said that his mother is from Limuru. She is now in Minneapolis, but they still have relatives in Nairobi. He said they’re okay but scared. We chatted a bit more about our hopes for Kenya.

I’m still amazed at times by how small this global village actually is.

a brief update from our Nairobi Refugee Ministry Team:

Those from the Luo tribe that fled to “T” yesterday from “L” remain camped outside the “T” police station, near the home of [our team leader]. They are safe there as “T” is safe and quiet.

It appears that “L” has quieted down since yesterday as well. It sounds like all of the Luo have left the city.

The team plans to have their first gathering/team meeting since the trouble began in their Nairobi office [today].

The team received a wire transfer made up of gifts from churches in the USA that will help them as they seek to help the women/children of the [refugee] fellowship in Nairobi.

Tensions continue to run high in Kenya as the existing government seeks to entrench itself.

The RefMin Nairobi teammates are all well.

“REFUGEES FLEE FRESH KENYA VIOLENCE”

More refugees streamed from western Kenya on Wednesday as fresh violence followed the announcement of Cabinet appointments that the opposition said undermined attempts to resolve a crisis over disputed elections that has killed more than 500 people.
click here to read the entire article.

new outbreaks of violence in kenya (1:35 min):

struggle to survive in Kenya - food distribution yesterday (:55 min):

Today I received this update from the IT refugee ministry team in Nairobi:

Yesterday morning, [our team leader] left for Nairobi to have our car tuned-up. He said he didn’t want to wait until the situation improved and that he better make sure it’s running well if he has to drive us out of this country. Hopefully, it will not have to be necessary.

While waiting, he took the opportunity to walk to [_____]’s (one of our Kenyan teammates) place which is right next to Kibera, Kenya’s biggest slum and a major hot spot. He’s in regular communication with him, but it was good to see him in person and just to encourage him.

[Our team leader] has also been checking on [_____] (another Kenyan teammate) who stays in Eastleigh, the same community where the women we work with live. She’s okay and the women are, too.

One of the women residing in Kangemi together with six other refugee women and their children, told [our team leader] that they are looking after each other. The bags of food items we gave them for Christmas are running out. We were supposed to give them their monthly financial help, but because trouble broke out, we could not connect with them.

Yesterday was supposed to be our first Saturday church service for the year, but the elders of the fellowship decided against meeting as we weren’t sure if it was going to be safe for our refugee brothers and sisters to leave their homes. In four days, we are scheduled to have a refugee family retreat, but it has been postponed indefinitely due to the uncertainty of the times. The short-term [Northwood Church] team from the U.S. that has volunteered to help us have canceled their trip as per our advise.

Everything is at a standstill. Not knowing what’s going to happen next is keeping us all on the edge. But we are fine, and for now, far from any danger.

Please pray for the refugees, not just our brothers and sisters from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, but also for the many Kenyans who have been displaced.

Trusting in Christ alone,
[Nairobi Refugee Ministry Team]