NAIROBI, Kenya, JAN. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- To care for the thousands of people displaced by the ethnic and political violence which erupted in Kenya after a disputed election last month, the Caritas aid organization has opened the doors of churches.
Collaborating with local Caritas personnel and volunteers, the international network is providing refugees with basic necessities, such as food, potable water, clothing and medicine.
Caritas is assisting groups of displaced people in refugee camps located in the archdioceses of Nairobi and Mombasa, and the dioceses of Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisii, Kakamega and Mararal, among others
According to Caritas leaders in Kenya, in the Diocese of Kisii, for example, the displaced now occupy the cathedral, where 2,300 people are being provided with shelter. In the Kericho Diocese, refugees are staying in parishes.
Caritas Kenya reported that an appeal will be made to the Caritas network to request funds to finance a medium- and long-term response plan, since it is unknown how long the displaced are going to stay in the camps, nor when and how their resettlement can be brought about.
