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January 4, 2008
PDA responds to post-election violence in Kenya Stated Clerk issues letter expressing concern over unrest
by Evan Silverstein Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) [ http://staging.pcusa.org/pda ] is supporting the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in its response to the spiraling violence sweeping Kenya following last month's re-election of incumbent president Mwai Kibaki.
About 300 people have been killed and as many as 75,000 forced to flee their homes since Kibaki won a narrow victory in the Dec. 27 vote, according to Kenyan government officials.
Much of the post-election violence, which has included horrific attacks and gangs of machete-wielding young men roaming the streets, has been attributed to political parties disputing the presidential results.
The strife has also led to looting, destruction of property and injuries, according to a situation report issued Jan. 3 by PDA, the disaster-response and relief agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The PCEA's Board for Social Responsibility has forwarded a Rapid Response Fund appeal for $50,000 to Action by Churches Together International (ACT), a Geneva-based international alliance of churches and relief agencies of which PDA is a member.
Funds will be used to provide food supplies, blankets and mosquito nets to about 8,000 internally displaced persons, PDA's situation report said.
"PCEA will work with other members of the ACT Alliance as well as with our mission hospitals and ministry of health to provide medical services and with the ministry for internal security to provide adequate security while in the [refugee] camps," the situation report said.
PDA has also established a special account
[https://www.pcusa.org/give/online/projectSelectAction.do?numberString=DR 000131] for Kenya disaster response and relief.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the PC(USA)'s General Assembly, has sent a letter to PCEA leaders expressing concern over the violence.
"As I have seen the images of violence and destruction in Kenya the last few days, my heart has gone out to you and my prayers have gone up to God for our friends and partners in Kenya," Kirkpatrick said in the Jan. 2 letter.
The unrest is rare for Kenya, an island of stability that has enjoyed relative calm even as war and chronic political violence wracked neighboring countries, like Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.
Much of the violence has taken place in Eldoret, a town about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi, where PDA supported the PCEA in its response to ethnic violence last summer, the situation report said.
In a particularly disturbing incident on Jan. 1, a mob torched a church in Eldoret sheltering hundreds of Kenyans seeking refuge from the violence. There were conflicting accounts about how many people died. The Kenya Red Cross said in a statement it retrieved 17 bodies from the smoldering church, some of them children. Other witnesses put the toll at up to 50.
The full text of Kirkpatrick's letter:
Dear Friends in Christ:
As I have seen the images of violence and destruction in Kenya the last few days, my heart has gone out to you and my prayers have gone up to God for our friends and partners in Kenya. It is with great sadness that I write this letter on behalf of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), hearing the stories of those lives that are affected by the unrest and violence that is taking place in Kenya due to conflicts over the recent elections. We are praying for all those who have been and continue to be threatened by the situation.
At this time, we also wish to encourage you to work with your partner churches to bring healing and reconciliation in the midst of the chaos. When we visited on Mt. Elgon two months ago, I saw what a powerful role the churches in Kenya can play in a situation of violence and destruction, and I pray that you, along with other churches, will be able to take the lead in reconciliation during this troubled time. We stand with you in solidarity to bring about a peaceful end to the conflict. It is our prayer that you will remain hopeful and vigilant, trusting that peace will come as a result of the grace of God and of faithful and fervent prayers.
May the grace and peace that only Christ can bring guard your hearts and minds.
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