News/Updates:

Dear friends:

Greetings in the name Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your support of prayers for my beloved country and your generous financial support.

Overview of the last one week

• Nakuru is now a little bit peaceful after the end of the week’s killings.
• The skirmishes and killings have now moved to adjacent towns like Naivasha and Solai.
• The Kofi Annan’s peace negotiating team seems to be working positively because our President Kibaki and the head of the opposition Hon. Raila Kibaki have promised to work for peace and Annan’s team says that the crisis may be resolved within one year.
• The government has also promised to build police stations in the clash zones.
• More Kenyans are still being displaced from various parts of the country but we hope with earnest prayers peace will soon return.
• One of the members of Parliament was unfortunately shot dead in Nairobi yesterday but we have not known the actual reason whether those were thugs or political.
• We are still having a lot of IDPs in Nakuru and other parts of the country. Right now we have 2 IDP camps in Nakuru town, one at the ASK showground with about 6,559 (almost all of then from the Kikuyu community) and the other camp at Afraha Stadium with about 4,800 IDPs (most of them from non-Kikuyu community). Some of them from Nakuru town and others from the Nakuru surroundings.
• So far the IDPs that have gone through our ASK showground camp are 46,865.
• The Rotary International has been very helpful since they have donated 594 tents so far. We are hoping to accommodate most of the IDPs in the new camp site by Friday 1st February, 2008).

When the Afraha Stadium camp started three days ago, this was a big test of the love of Christ to deal with some of the community that has been killing our community Kikuyu.
we as a management committee are neutral and serving all the IDPs regardless of their community origin.

As a Christian, some of us have to show the love of Christ even to our enemies however some of our communities cannot understand why we should support and provide the community that has been killing and destroying property but I believe showing them love and concern is going to change them and their attitude. May be this will be part of the solution.

Please continue praying for us as we wait the outcome of Mr. Kofi Annan’s resolution through our leaders. I will continue keeping you informed may be on weekly basis.

Thanks and God Bless.

Yours in his Services,
Zablon Kuria

January 31, 2008 - Update From Zablon Kuria - Kenya:

Thank you for your telephone call Dan and your continuous prayers and concern about us in Nakuru West and Kenya as a whole.

We have had a very good day with less stress. We were launching an initiative which has been started by the most successful bank of Kenya called Equity Bank. Equity Bank has started this initiative together with Presbyterian Church of East Africa, the Methodist Church, Anglican Church of Kenya and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. They came to visit us and are supporting with Nakuru District IDPs. This is a big blessing and I am hoping other companies and corporations are going to follow suit.

Unfortunately, by the time we were launching this initiative in Nakuru, we had breaking news that another Member of Parliament was shot dead in Eldoret. However, this has nothing to do with the current political situation. It is a domestic and immoral issue where the politician went and picked somebody’s wife whose husband is a police officer. The police officer on getting this information, together with his colleagues mounted an instant road block and as the victim approached it, they were requested to stop but they declined prompting the husband (police officer) to shoot the Member of Parliament killing him on the spot. This would tell you what kind of some of the leaders we have in the opposition.

The figures of the IDPs in our two camps have drastically changed in the last 24 hours. We have 8,075 IDPs at the ASK showground and 7,802 at the Afraha Stadium. The other figures that I had not given you are 52,045 IDPs within the Nakuru District, all of them in 72 camps. However, we are only dealing with the above two camps.

Their needs are shelter, food, blankets, sanitary pads, soaps, medications, HIV/AIDs anti retrovirals with the accompanying nutritional diet, mattresses, mobile toilets, water tanks, counseling services, pastoral care and transport among others. The good news is that Red Cross is providing most of the food stuffs, blankets, sanitary pads and soaps. Other organizations, like the Rotary International have provided us with tents. There are other organizations on the ground that are helping us with water and sanitation services. However, we would still need additional help especially in transporting the IDPs to their ancestral homes as follows:

• At ASK showground we have about 2,500 who are willing to move if we would get transport if we would get transport. Each of them will need KSh.550/- and this equals to KSh. 1,375,000 which is equivalent to US$ 21,153.
• At the Afraha stadium, we have about 5,700 who are willing to move. Each of them will need about Ksh.750/- and this equals KSh.4,750,000 which is equivalent to US$ 65,769.

However, we are requesting transport companies to donate their vehicles so that we only fuel which would bring our budget drastically down. We are also hoping that the government and other organization are going to help with some of the funding. Otherwise we can work with this budget now. If things change, we’ll let you know.

Yours in His Service
Zablon Kuria

January 29, 2008 - Update From Dan Cripe

Spoke with Zablon this morning. Here's an update:

• Nakuru was calm today.
• Naivasha is still in turmoil with active conflict between tribal gangs and heavy police/military action.
• A Minister of Parliament was assassinated today. The group claiming responsibility has apparently announced that there will be more.
• Progress has been limited on the diplomacy front.
• Barack Obama called the leaders to action on Kenya radio (see transcript here)

Zablon says the challenge once again in Nakuru is the number of IDP's (Internally Displaced Persons). To complicate matters, the IDPs are now segregated into two camps - the Kikuyu camp (~6,000) and the non-Kikuyu camp (~3,000) at the stadium. Zablon and team are trying to minister to both camps (they are neutral), though to paraphrase Zablon, "You can imagine how difficult it is to walk into the stadium as a Kikuyu." (Actually, I don't think I can imagine.)

With the poor connection yesterday I mis-interpreted what Sammy told me about funding. They do, in fact, urgently need funding for the following purposes: 

• Food purchase and preparation
• Clothing and tents
• Transportation

Zablon told me that the bulk of any funds would be used for transportation- getting the IDPs out of the camps and into the homes of relatives. He basically said anything would help, but he is going to start working on a budget today so that we can all understand the magnitude of the need. 

More to follow tomorrow.

January 31, 2008 - Update From Zablon Kuria - Kenya:

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