CJI has sent $10,000 in emergency assistance to the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Kenya. JRS is assisting people displaced by the violence in Nairobi and in the Kitale Diocese in the Rift Valley Province.

JRS is providing both emergency relief and longer-term support to those in greatest need. Assistance provided to vulnerable groups like children and HIV-patients includes tents, sanitary kits, clothing, and food supplements. This aid will be coupled with peace-building and counselling, as well as one-off support of fertilisers and seeds to enable people to start over.

There are 43,000 internally displaced persons in the Kitale Diocese, and 45,000 in the Archdiocese of Nairobi. Many of these people have been camped out in schools, churches and police stations after their homes were torched.

CJI has been asked to continue to support the Jesuits in Kenya in their commitment to redress both the root causes and the tragic impact of the violence gripping their country. The Hekima Jesuit School of Theology is also raising funds for the nearby parish of Guadalupe in Kibera. Kibera, a huge slum settlement, on the outskirts of Nairobi, and Rift Valley were among the areas worst hit by the post-election conflicts. JRS is working in partnership with the Nairobi-based Jesuit Hakimani Centre, the Jesuit province and other agencies.

March 5, 2008