NAKURU Region, Kenya - Civil unrest and outbursts of ethnic violence has created a serious humanitarian crisis in Kenya.

More than a quarter of a million people have been uprooted after President Mwai Kibaki was returned to power late December in a disputed election.

The resulting hostility has caused many tribes to rehash old geographic boundary lines and economic power struggles.

“This crisis is much more than angry party supporters fighting over a disputed election,” said David Darg, Operation Blessing’s deputy director of international programs, who is on the ground in Kenya. “The election was just the straw that broke the camel’s back and years of ethnic tensions have surfaced.”

OBI has teamed up with International Aid Services to respond to the growing crisis and thousands of displaced people who have fled their homes. Together, a 2-month project has been set into motion that will reach 15,000 people in four villages with aid. A combined total of more than $115,000 from the two organizations has been poured into the project.

In addition to food, blankets, mattresses, sanitation kits, clothes, medication and utensil kits, relief efforts will also include trauma counseling for families.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Africa, David Darg, Kenya Crisis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.