Happy to be here…too sad to weep

February 17th, 2010 by Alison Drummond

Hi all,

Yesterday we travelled from Nairobi to the Pipeline IDP camp, about 20kms shy of Nakuru, a mid-sized city. Along the way we spotted Baboons and Zebras on the side of the road, which was really neat. Also, we stopped to see the Great Rift Valley from a vantage point, before descending into it, and the horizon seemed to go on forever- absolutely breathtaking.

We spotted several of the other IDP camps- Jakawe and Gilgil- from the road. The former has largely been replaced by mud and cement houses built by the government and aid organizations. Gigil is still a rather large camp and it looks like most people are still living in UNHCR refugee tents.

The Pipeline IDP camp is much the same situation as Gilgil (as far as appearances go). I would estimate less than 10% of the 200 families living the camp having permanent houses built. Many of the refugee tents are in dire shape and have been repaired many times already.

The camp is compromised mostly of Kukyo people, the tribe which experienced most of the violence during the 2007 elections. Within the camp are two groups of people – Molo and Makagani-who came together from two different geographical areas after being displaced. The government gave some families $10,000 Ksh (Kenyan Shillings- around $120-$150 Ca) months after they were displaced and these groups pooled their resources and bought the land they are currently living on.

We took a tour with Julie, a GVN volunteer and also a nurse, who has been working in the clinic since early January (though she has been in Kenya since Oct. and speaks mad Kiswahili!). We learned about the informal government system the camp has established with committees to make decisions about education, health, and food distribution.

Shortly after we arrived a fight broke out regarding the distribution of a food donation (sacks of Maize) from that morning. Apparently those elected to distribute food to their quadrant (the camp is divided into 12 sectors) have not been doing so justly, and some have been caught with full sacks of Maize in their tents. Now that security has largely been established with the passing of the elections and most of the violence and because the communities have banded together, food, health, and education come to the forefront.

Sanitation and water are huge issues. The camp is still using the original latrines, which also look like they came from the UN. Many are full to capacity and excrement is leaking out from the base. Some have been sealed off and some families/communities have put padlocks on to save a latrine for their own use. Julie said there have been big problems with people dumping trash down the latrines because there is nowhere else to put it. Not only does this fill up the latrines that much faster, but people are dumping hazardous waste- i.e. sharps.

The water containers in the camp were lent out quite a ways back, and I gather the lender would like them back- thankfully they have not been removed as there is no other system for collecting and distributing water at present. At times the water is turned off if supply seems to be running low. Apparently it has been raining on and off for the last week thank God; the corn and kale look very dry and the earth seems parched.

Education is also a problem as school comes at quite a cost in Kenya. Many kids were sent home from school this week with large outstanding school fees due. Some of the volunteers have begun a guaranteed market chicken coop project to provide funds for the community medical clinic and for school fees. It seems quite simple and sustainable and could provide the community with a great source of income. The chicks are purchased from a store in Nakuru and then raised until 6 weeks of age; the store then buys them back for meat. The cost to start the project is somewhat substantial as a large coop needs to be built and feeders purchased. Sonja and I are hoping to help build and fund this project as it seems like it is not only necessary but desired by the community.

I read through the volunteer log book last night to see what people have been doing in the camp and what projects we could continue tackling. I feel pretty strongly about the sanitation bit not only because of the latrines but because there are also no wash areas and water is an issue. Apparently one of the last volunteers was able to bring the District Minister of Health out to the camp to discuss this issue. He was directly quoted in the log as saying ‘It is a major health issue and should the rains come and cause a flood, it will become a health disaster’. Though he admits that the government has no plans to do anything about it or to help in any way. In fact, he admitted that they are hopeful that if conditions become poor enough, the IDPs will disband and move on, making them far less visible than they currently are, and supporting the governments claims that there are no IDPs in this country. I am so outraged and appalled all at once- yet it is hard to know what to do. If the government acknowledged the camp, the clinic could become registered with the ministry of health and would then be entitled to funds for basic medications, vaccines, and support. At present, it is entirely run off of volunteers and volunteer donations.

On the home front, we are staying with a school teacher named Hellen and her two daughters, Naomi and Betty, and Hellen’s two grandchildren, Ryell and Ian. They have been very hospitable and seem keen to share the Kenyan culture and language with us. We are adjusting to using the squatty and we have yet to take a basin-bath, but I’m sure we’ll get used to it.

I am desperately trying to work on my Kiaswahili as it seems quite necessary in the camp. Otherwise we are going to spend the next few days observing and discovering how we can help in the camp and clinic. At this stage we are very overwhelmed and tired (we haven’t been sleeping much) and very much wanting to help.

Please continue to pray for health (I am a little under the weather) and for direction in the camp.

I may not be able to write for another week or so as we cannot come into town too often.

Miss and love you all!

Ali