Obama’s Election Brings Hope to Kenya
Post Election Violence in Kenya
Just like in the US, hope is the word of the day in Kenya. As optimism for a long-term political settlement increases in the wake of the post-election violence that wreaked havoc in Kenya a year ago, ActionAid continues to support the families displaced by violence.
Last year was a difficult one in Kenya. Post-election violence revived long-standing tensions and sparked conflict across the country. Even after the violence died down, the problems remained. People were afraid to return to their homes.
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But an election in the United States bred fresh hope for Kenyans. Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States.
“Obama’s election in the United States gives us hope for solving our own political crisis. If the United States can overcome their divides to elect a leader like Obama, then so can we,” says Boaz, the head of an education coalition in Kenya. “We celebrated Christmas this year because of the hope we felt. Last year, we could not celebrate because of the violence.”
This hope will be essential to fuel the hard work that lies ahead. While Kenyans are optimistic and open to the changes that must occur to achieve a peaceful settlement, much work remains.
“We are ready to go back, but only after all the problems that led to this have been sorted out,” says 27-year-old Mary Murugi, a mother of two.
“I might be willing to forgive and go back, but I cannot tell what is in the mind of the other person,” she says.
Born and brought up in Muhoroni, Murugi grew in the middle of people from other tribes. As her business thrived she bought half an acre of land to fend for her family.
“But we came here with nothing,” she says. “Even the house we were staying in was burnt.”
Murugi is among the 350,000 people who were displaced in the country.
About 250,000 of those displaced are from Rift Valley currently living in 2000 camps scattered across the area.
There are currently more than 10,000 people in the camps in Nakuru, 9,000 at the Showground and over 2,000 at Afraha Stadium camps.
Further west of Nakuru is Nyanza and Western provinces where people of Kikuyu origin have been chased from. Luos, Kalenjins and Luhyias only consider safe, their ancestral homes in Western, Nyanza and South Rift regions.
The Showground camp is mainly hosting people running away from Western, Nyanza and South Rift. The camp at Afraha is more of transit for those moving from Central and North Rift areas to Nyanza and Western. The camp at the Showground is taking a permanency shape with construction of sanitary and health facilities and plans for vocational training.
“We are expecting more people from South Rift where they do not feel safe,” John Mbugua, the provincial public health officer in charge at the camps says.
The government had to set up health facilities, for both preventive and curative services.
“We initially thought it would be a stop-over place for people moving to their ancestral homes,” Mbugua says.
“As the numbers increased the threat for communicable disease break out became imminent."
ActionAid provided transport for medical supplies to the health centers in camp and for sick patients to main hospitals at the height of the crisis.
ActionAid continues to support camps by constructing kitchen facilities, providing family kits containing basic items like nail cutters, soap and sanitary pads and offering health education to prevent diseases outbreak.