IAFR in Kakuma

Field notes, perspectives, stories & updates from IAFR's work in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya

Breaking point

November 27, 2023

"I was in the field attending to a crisis in the reception center... We have demonstrations since Saturday and [refugees] destroyed the kitchen and the intervening rooms and injured 3 guards and I had to call the police twice..."

I received this heartbreaking message from a humanitarian worker in Kakuma this morning. We had planned to talk about how IAFR can help with some of the urgent needs in the Kakuma refugee camp reception centers where over 13,000 people - most of whom are children and women - are forced to wait for up to a year before receiving a simple shelter in the refugee camp proper.

The reception centers were built to offer short-term immediate shelter and provisions for hundreds of new arrivals - not thousands. The systems are clearly at breaking point.

Things often turn violent when people lose hope.

Please join me in praying for the children, women, and men seeking refuge in Kakuma today. Please also pray for the humanitarian workers seeking to help them stay alive. The relationship between refugees and NGOs is often strained.

- Tom Albinson
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600 Disabled refugees needing help

November 27, 2023

I learned from a friend serving with a humanitarian agency in Kakuma that there are over 600 disabled people in the reception centres of Kakuma today. Among other things, they need wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids. My friend is working to connect us with Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicapped International) so that we can contribute to the urgent need for these items. Our hope is that this provision will give the people there a sign that they are not forgotten and that God sees, hears, and cares for them.

Meanwhile, heavy rains in the semidesert of Kakuma have wiped out the shelters of 123 refugee families in recent weeks. They expect the rains to continue in coming months. The loss of these shelters compounds the shortage of shelters available for the people in the reception centres waiting for a shelter of their own in the camp.

My heart is heavy as I share this with you. For now, let's join our prayers to our uprooted friends in Kakuma - and those who serve them as well. God have mercy.

- Tom Albinson
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About IAFR in Kakuma

IAFR has been serving people in Kakuma refugee camp since 2010. The camp population is about 250,000 people (mostly women and children). They came to find temporary refuge here from war, persecution and gross violations of human rights. But for many, "temporary" refuge lasted fordecades with no end in sight.

We visit Kakuma 2 times annually, during which time this blog is most active.

Visit the Kakuma page on the IAFR.org website to learn more!

Our Partners

We partner with United Refugee and Host Churches (URHC) - a refugee initiated association of over 160 churches from within the camp and surrounding host community.

We also partner with Windle International Kenya (WIK), an exceptional humanitarian agency through which IAFR provides secondary school scholarships for girls.

Questions or Comments?

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