Kenya (MNN) ― As more deaths raise the toll to 700 and thousands are displaced from their homes, the refugees cry out for help. Food rations are insufficient, and as many try to flee the country for safe haven, they are often blocked by militia forces at the border.
Mary Nyawera, a 74 year-old woman at a Ugandan refugee camp, managed to make it safely across the border. However, she is struggling to provide for her 22 grandchildren.
"The young children need some milk and sugar," said Nyawera. "They don't eat maize and beans."
The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, who has worked in Kenya since 1983, is continuing to step up and aid displaced victims.
"There are now, and there are going to be, many needs," said CRWRC U.S. Executive Director Andrew Ryskamp. "There are immediate needs--for food, blankets, and other survival items--and then there will be long-term resettlement and reconstruction needs."
The CRWRC team is working hard to assess the situation and plan long-term relief. Much funding and prayer is needed, as the long-term relief costs are estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars. CRWRC has historically partnered with local organizations and churches in Kenya to help reduce poverty, train leaders of the church, increase health standards and provide relief to victims of displacement and poverty.
Ryskamp said that the agency is providing $25,000 worth of grain to help feed people in Eldoret, a particularly hard-hit area in Kenya. Some of the worst violence has occurred here, with six people killed in the area and 50 homes destroyed over the weekend. A church in fellowship with CRC, the Reformed Church in East Africa, has opened the doors of its partially-built Eldoret conference center to provide shelter for the displaced.
Nyawera lost her home and her four sons in attacks similar to those that took place in Eldoret. She and her 22 grandchildren, ages 2 to 17, fled to Uganda to escape the violence.
"My sons had met at their uncle's home, to discuss how they could protect their families in case they were attacked by their enemies, when youths supporting Raila Odinga attacked them," Nyawera said in tears. "The thugs locked them in the house, set fire on it and they all perished."
Many refugees have stories similar to Nyawera's, and over a quarter million are seeking safety in surrounding nations. The supplies are meager, lines are long at the border camps, and much help is needed here as well as in Kenya. Over 600 children have taken refuge at a border camp in Busia, and according to James Male of Save the Children, they are at risk of malnutrition if this insufficient diet continues.
Please pray for the peace and safety of the refugees and humanitarian aid workers, and for the churches and believers in the midst of the turmoil. Pray for God's peace and comfort, and for His message of salvation and hope to be shared with the victims of violence. Also pray for the needs of the children to be met, including sufficient food rations and safe passage across the border to refugee centers in neighboring countries.
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