wfn.org | Focusing on the Future at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

LWF Supports Refugees from Southern Sudan

KAKUMA, Kenya/GENEVA, 7 June 2001 (LWI) - The present civil war in Sudan has
been going on since 1983, pitting autonomy-seeking Christian and animist
southerners against successive Islamic governments in the north. As a
result, hundreds of thousands of people have died, and over two million are
dependent on food aid. Tens of thousands have fled the country as refugees.
Renewed fighting in 1999 led to another exodus. Many have found refuge in
camps such as this one in Kakuma, Kenya.

Around 70,000 people of which a majority are southern Sudanese, some Somali
and some Ethiopian currently live in Kakuma Refugee Camp, which is supported
jointly by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Action by Churches
Together (ACT), a network of churches and related agencies responding to
human need through coordinated assistance. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reduced support of this camp by 20 percent
in the past year. The LWF and ACT assure the supply of living necessities to
the refugees.

There is little basis for hope. The interplay of war, drought and poverty
only deepens the crisis and makes rebuilding a slow and more difficult
process.

Klaus Rieth, of the German Protestant aid agency Bread for the World (Brot
f*r die Welt) visited Kakuma Refugee Camp and made the following report.

The Difficult Trek to Northwestern Kenya

Sabina Itubo stares into the distance paying no attention to what is going
on around her. A few hours ago, accompanied by her three children aged six,
four and three years, she arrived at the camp's reception center. Her
husband was killed when the Sudan Air Force bombed their small village,
Kiara in southern Sudan. Since no other relatives survived the bombing,
Sabina was forced to flee.

The journey through the steppes and stony desert of southern Sudan to the
northwestern Kenyan border town lasted nine days with temperatures as high
as 38*C and hardly anything to eat or drink for the family. Sabina had to
bury her one-year-old under an acacia tree, the baby could not endure the
harsh climate. The other refugees with whom she was travelling said they had
to keep on going. Sabina was often on the verge of giving up.

Upon arrival at the camp, Sabina immediately received the basic necessities
for herself and her children. They could eat and sleep temporarily under the
big corrugated iron roof. She had already been given some cooking utensils
and enough blankets for the whole family. Within a few days, they would be
assigned a hut of their own so the family could have a home again.

Almost all the refugees-women, men, and so-called "unaccompanied" youth and
children-in the camp, only a few kilometers from the Sudanese border, could
tell similar stories. The youngsters came in large groups, having lost
parents and relatives.

The Kakuma camp has existed since 1992. The area around it is not safe.
Bandits attack not only herders with their flocks but also groups of
travellers, and increasingly, also aid workers. The Kenyan government has
posted armed policemen there. The huts are spread out over a distance of 15
kilometers. No one imagined that the camp would be operational for so long.
But the civil war over power and influence, oil wells and minerals, religion
and raw materials has raged on.

Maintaining the camp costs about USD 14 million a year, an enormous sum that
requires constant fundraising. This is a major task for Graham Davison from
Ireland, who manages the camp on behalf of the LWF. Working with 120 staff
members, a majority of whom are Kenyan, Davison ensures availability of
food, building materials and most importantly fresh water. LWF financing
alone amounts to USD 9 million a year. Support also is provided through ACT.

Refugees in the camp need food, most of which has to be ferried from a
considerable distance. Maize, flour, oil and salt rations are intended to
ensure assure a 1,600-calorie daily intake per person. This is still below
the recommended 2,300 calories per day, but beyond Kakuma's budget.

Education, Peace Initiatives

Davison also ensures maintenance of peace in the camp. With a population
representing various ethnic groups and backgrounds, tension arises for
different reasons. Youth and adult activities for both men and women are
organized regularly to calm the situation. The camp has an extensive sports
program. Boys and girls play soccer, practice basketball and other sports.
Women's groups establish income-generating activities to meet daily
expenses. Men have an opportunity to learn various skills.

Education is very important as well. Most of the teenagers have realized
that with good schooling and skills' training they will have better
opportunities in post-war Sudan. In Kakuma, there is a process to shape
future leaders from kindergarten through primary and secondary school and up
to university through distance learning. They are prepared to take up key
positions in their home country.

In other ways too, The camp situation prepares its inhabitants for more
peaceful times in other ways. That such diverse groups, races and tribes
manage to live so close together, usually getting along well is a model for
life after war. As Davison says, this is reason enough to equip the camp
well.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 131 member
churches in 72 countries representing over 60.2 million of the nearly 64
million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches
in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does
not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material
may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement.]

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