January 25, 2008

up in the air

People have asked me to write. To blog. Forgive me for writing so infrequently while i’ve been in the States. i need to tell you that my plans are –

up in the air –

Yes, my plans are up in the air, where i imagine the hand of God holding them there. The Book of James says not to brag or boast that tomorrow you’ll do this or that, but say, God willing… tomorrow i will do this or that… (Js. 4:13-17). The political and social situation in Kenya has resulted in a temporary postponement of my departure date (originally Feb. 4). i think of myself in a holding pattern at this point. Sort of like a plane circling its touch down point, waiting for clearance from air traffic control.

i’m up in the air.

In the meantime, i’ll continue to work for New Life Homes from the States, working out of the offices at CCTO.

What follows are some snippets from articles i’ve been reading on the current situation in Kenya -

quick stats

o Around 60% of Kenya's population of 37 million lives on less than a dollar a day
o Life expectancy in Kenya has fallen (WHO)
o Kenya is seen as one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world

(source: Transparency International)

the slums of Nairobi

“In Kibera (the largest slum in Kenya) it is a matter of degrees. Those who have nothing are looting those who have a little bit more.

More than 50% of the people who live in this slum are unemployed. It has a child mortality rate that is between five to seven times the national average. There are tens of thousands of AIDS orphans. And there is no proper water or sanitation or electricity.

All this in a place with nearly a million people. As Walter Kibet, clinical officer with the charity Afrem put it to me: "You see the children getting sick and it affects every aspect of their development."

This population has seen successive governments rob billions from the public purse in well-documented scandal.

Add all this together and you get a sense of what might be driving the rage. It certainly isn't a simple issue of tribalism.”

(source: BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7205762.stm)

ethnic cleansing?

On Thursday (Jan. 23), Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing opposition officials of helping to organize ethnic violence in the Rift Valley region.

For the full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7208421.stm

rape

“Battles are fought on women's bodies as much as on battlefields.”

- Kathleen Cravero, UNDP (United Nations Development Program)

“Staff in the Nairobi Women's Hospital - one of Kenya's leading centers for the treatment of rape and sexual violence - say they have seen double the number of cases affecting women, teenagers and girls since January.

"Since the beginning of the month, we have had 140 cases of rape and defilement," said Rahab Ngugi, patient services manager at the hospital.

"We were used to seeing an average of about four cases a day, now there is an average of between eight and 10."

Almost half of the cases at the hospital's specialized clinic are girls under the age of 18, Ms Ngugi said. One case was a two-year-old baby girl.”
----
“(A Nairobi-based rape counselor) worries that although the gangs are not yet targeting makeshift, unregulated camps and shelters - in schools, churches and community centers - the women and their children sheltering there are increasingly vulnerable.

The UN says that in the capital alone some 12,000 people are living in public buildings after being driven from their homes.

These shelters should be the focus of concern.

"Many of the internally displaced are not living in formal camps. They are just gathered around a school or church. Then you have the worst-case scenario - where you don't have that level of law and order and you have people living on top of each other."”

(source: BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7204680.stm )

what’s happening to the children?
“The Ministry of Education, which ordered schools to reopen this week, had no immediate estimate Thursday of how many children were still out of school. But the U.N. children's agency said the conflict has displaced 100,000 children, and some 75,000 are still living in camps that have sprung up in churches, police stations, schools and show grounds.”
(source: Associated Press - http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KENYA_SCHOOLS_OUT?SITE=CACHI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT )
mindful

My mind is too full of late. i’m ever mindful of Kenya.

It’s raining outside. i’m sitting on a leather couch peering out of a double-paned glass window, a fire beside me, the heater heating my house. The rain outside doesn’t touch me.

i’m mindful of Kenya.

i’m watching
the rain rush
down our paved streets
through pristine gutters

and i’m mindful of Kenya.

rain like this, there,
doesn’t rush clear –
it rushes raw
sewage and hope
like run-off
never to return.

Thanks for caring about our friends and family in Kenya and for the people whom we’ve never met who are suffering.

Janay

My work address if you’d like to know more about New Life’s humanitarian relief efforts and outreach during this time of crisis – jgarrick@newlifehometrust.us