A family forced to flee for safety from Burnt Forest area now seeks shelter at the showground at Nakuru. (Photo: (c)Manoocher Deghati/IRIN) NAIROBI, 16 JAN - I met with about 100 other church leaders called together by the National Christian Council of Kenya on the 31st of December after it became obvious that we had a crisis on our hands.
We formed four committees to respond to the crisis. I was requested to chair the Humanitarian Crisis response committee. We recognized that in the light of the Christmas holidays no agency had capacity to act on their own - we therefore formed what we are calling the National Alliance of Churches.
I was able to call together 13 development agencies working in Kenya. Working with the media and cellphones we were able to track the location of about 230,000 displaced people through a database that we developed. This database has been shared with the Red Cross and the UN relief agencies, who have recognized our work.
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We were able to move quickly to coordinate the responses by Churches - who were able to mobilize volunteers, food and non-food items meet some of the most urgent needs even as the larger organizations like the UN were still mobilizing their resources. This was done nationally after we set up a secretariat using borrowed computers and donated office space.
I have led this committee for two weeks and have just handed over leadership to the leaders of World Relief here in Kenya.
We have divided this crisis into three phases. I would now like to move to Phase II with my CMS and Samaritan Strategy team:
Phase I: 'Rescue and Relief' Coordinating the emergency response by several development agencies under the umbrella of a newly constituted National Alliance of Churches - one month. We trust that our role in this phase is diminishing as the major development agencies now take over.
Phase II: 'Reconciliation and Resettlement' We are now mobilizing trained counsellors to meet with the victims of violence - this would be for the next three months.
Phase III: 'Rebuilding and Reformation' I have called together a forum of agencies that have capacity to address the physical rebuilding - but also education and discipleship. The
Samaritan Strategy message is needed now more that ever. [The Samaritan Strategy vision is "to see engaged, credible local churches in every African nation in a sufficiency critical mass to effect real transformation in their communities and nations."]
We have brought together several development agencies that have a proven track record in empowering the poor. The context is ripe for our Samaritan Strategy training - that deals with core beliefs that have not always been addressed by the Church.
I would desire capacity to roll out this training with church leaders throughout the country - reconciliation must precede reconstruction.
We are meeting again this week to coordinate our efforts.
You can use the link below to give towards the vital contribution that Dennis and the CMS Africa team are making.
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