After driving in mud and on dirt roads for a while we arrived at a refugee camp. What I saw was shocking and it made me sad. We had traveled about 200 km from the capital, Nairobi, and were in the Molo district of Kenya. This area was the most effected by the political violence which rendered thousands of families homeless.
Nine months has passed since they had been driven out of their homes. They had been in a tent camp in the city for couple of months. Then they were sent back to a remote field by the government. Over a thousand people, many of whom were children or elderly, set up the shelter from sticks and plastic bags. Some of them had plastic tents given to them by Non-Governmental Organizations. How could these people have lived this way for nine months? It is obvious to see their suffering.
When I asked about the situation with food most of them said that they go and dig roots or get leaves from gardens and eat. The government promised food, but it had not arrived for a month. People were complaining of not getting enough to eat or enough medicine. The next day I arranged for a truck load of corn flour, which is their main staple, to be delivered and I made the journey to the camp to make sure they got the food.
Each family was given 5 kg of corn flour. After receiving the food the women sang and danced around me and said a long prayer for me just before I left. When I talked to some government officials everybody had excuses why these people are not been taken care of. As I have seen in many places, it became clear to me that when people become helpless and have no social standing, nobody cares about them. For nine months the politicians were talking politics and getting plenty of international aid while the real victims were left to suffer and starve without basic survival needs. I am glad that I could help two hundred fifty families. Thank you everybody who helps Triple Gem Society.
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