HOTLINE - week of January 07, 2008

Kenya

More than 300 people have been killed and between 100,000 – 300,000 people are believed displaced due to riots and other violence throughout Kenya. Reaction to results from the Dec. 27, 2007, national elections has prompted the crisis.

The Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, a Church World Service partner, has characterized the post-election violence as the "worst-ever" in Kenya's history. Nairobi slum areas of Kibera, Mathare, and Kiambiu are among the worst affected, with houses being torched and burned to the ground, forcing families to flee their homes.

"A lot of destruction has taken place, with burning of properties in various parts of the city and injuries to people," says Sam Mutua, Church World Service-Kenya. "Church leaders met last night [Jan. 3] and also held a peace march that concluded with delivery of their written statement to the headquarters of the two political groups."

Church World Service is helping the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church to provide some 15,000 people (3,000 households) in Mathare and Kiambiu with maize, flour, cooking oil, salt, vegetables, and other urgently-needed items.

At least 112 people have been killed in landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains that struck the island of Java in late December. More than 129,000 people living in central and eastern Java have been affected. While many families have returned to begin rebuilding their homes as floodwaters have subsided in their areas, thousands of families in other areas remain uprooted.

Working in partnership, Church World Service-Indonesia has been responding with emergency relief in the most severely affected areas since December 26.

Thus far, CWS has provided 1,250 sleeping mats, 925 blankets, more than 115 cases of water (some 1,300 bottles), and 593 CWS Baby Kits for families whose lives have been disrupted by the floods. CWS is also providing biscuits and porridge for children, and women’s hygiene items, and is working with partner Yakkum Emergency Unit to deploy a mobile health clinic.

Colombia's 40-year internal conflict among paramilitaries, guerrilla groups, and the Colombian army has created one of the world's worst refugee crises.

"A lot of people think Colombia's troubles are just a bunch of drug lords shooting at each other, but it is worse than that and a lot of innocent people are caught in the middle," says Aaron Tate, Director of Refugee Services for Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, Texas, a CWS local resettlement affiliate. "For example, one [man] was a civic leader who resisted the local paramilitary’s efforts to recruit him. He fled after the paramilitary attacked him with a machete."

The Chilean government has agreed to accept a limited number of Colombian refugees for resettlement, and Tate recently spent three months in Chile, where he helped launch a new CWS program to assist Colombian refugees resettling there. The program, which equips Chilean churches to welcome the refugees, also provides four months' basic living assistance, including rent, food, school fees and supplies for children, vocational training, and support for income-generating activities for adults. The refugees gain help in applying for health insurance, finding a doctor, accessing mental health services, enrolling their children in school, and finding their way around their new community. The program also offers small grants to help refugees establish small businesses.

Enrique (not his real name) received a grant to start a business selling peanuts that he prepares with exotic flavors. "It's very difficult to make it in Chile, but here we have peace," he says. "We survive with the peanuts. We don't earn much money but at least we have enough for rent and for good food. We also have dreams to grow a little more, and to have our own home."

Through its Durable Solutions for Displaced Persons program, CWS has been working since 2004 to address issues related to the large-scale displacement of Colombians throughout Latin America.

The new Refugee Integration Services Program, based in Santiago, is a partnership among Church World Service, the Methodist Church of Chile, and the Social Assistance Foundation of Christian Churches.