Some hope, but still tense

General situation

UN envoy Kofi Annan has held talks between the president and opposition leaders which has resulted in them shaking hands for the first time since the election. We pray more progress will follow. Meanwhile, there has been a continued undercurrent of tension and periodic outbreaks of violence in various parts of the country. The troubles are now having a huge knock-on effect on tourism, which is resulting in job lay-offs and hotel closures.

Bombolulu

Hubert Seifert, Director of APDK which runs the Bombolulu wheelchair centre and Port Reitz School and Clinic, writes: “100 disabled people in our programmes have been directly affected through looting or burning of their houses or businesses or displacement. About 2,000 of our disabled clients have been indirectly affected through closure of their businesses, loss of income and increased cost of living.

One of our employees in the Nairobi branch lost all his property through looting in one of the slums and he was severely injured on the head by attacking gangs. He attributes it to Gods protection that his life was spared but he is very disturbed and feels insecure.

I received a request for four wheelchairs for people in Eldoret whose legs had been chopped off. We have decided to assist the desperate cases immediately incl. food, mobility aids and restocking of looted and burnt businesses.

The impact on our Bombolulu project with 190 mostly disabled employees and casual workers is devastating since there are hardly any tourists to buy the crafts made by them, and this will lead to substantial deficits and endanger many of the jobs.”

Sunshine Home Naivasha.

Currently quiet, with people going about there business more or less as normal.

Tumaini Children’s Home, Mombasa

The area is still uneasy following death threats in the past week, but he situation is calm, if tense.

Lake Victoria

Moses Otieno has travelled back to Lake Victoria from Mombasa following the death of his grandmother. He reports that there is a lot of tension and killings are continuing.

Kware slum, Nairobi

Bernard writes: "We are doing well and God has protected us all through despite the difficult times in our nation. We reopened the school and all is well. The pupils have reported apart from a few from western Kenya who had travelled home over the Christmas holiday with their parents and were caught up by the chaos upcountry. We've already started studies and the feeding programme as well."