Kiwanis Club of Kisumu
KIWANIS CLUB OF KISUMU
Humanitarian funds from Reach the Children
Report for 11th February -22nd February 2008.
This report is prepared by the Kiwanis club of Kisumu to account for funds donated by Reach the Children and Joining Hearts and Hands. All expenditure was on food items as was requested by the donors. The funds disbursed were Ksh 49,000.00 and all of it has been spent and the details indicated in the tables below. The beneficiaries were placed in three categories;
1) The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Kisumu and its environs;
2) Those that lost their livelihoods to looters and fires;
3) Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) returning to Kisumu and Western Kenya.
1. The internally displaced persons from Kisumu and its environs (IDPs).
Members of certain communities whose political affiliations were considered incorrect were displaced from their homes in Kisumu and had to seek refuge at the police station. Initially they were very many but with time they moved out of Kisumu to areas they considered more secure. Some were at the Central police station and others were at Kondele police station. Initially it was dangerous to try and help them because the community perceived them as the enemy. Those caught helping them were threatened with violence. Their lives were in constant danger and they could not venture out of the camps without protection. This risk reduced after the skirmishes reduced. Members of the Kiwanis club in Kisumu visited both camps and gave the IDPs bread and milk. At Kondele there were 48 people and at Central police station there were 60 people on the days we visited. We visited the central police station a second time and this time the club members had prepared supper which comprised of Maize and beans stew (nyoyo or githeri).The total expenditure on this exercise was Ksh 7300.00.
2. Those who lost their livelihoods to looters and fires.
The rioters burnt down premises believed to belong to the unwanted communities. Tenants lost their household goods in the residential areas while in the business areas the tenants lost their livelihoods. One area that was affected by arsonist is Kibuye market near the Kiwanis compound.Kibuye houses one of the largest periodic markets in East Africa. Market day is Sunday and thousands of people bring in their wares to sell from many parts of Kenya and some parts of East Africa. During the week it acts as a commercial hub for the medium and small scale entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Practically all the structures in Kibuye are temporary structures made of iron sheets and timber hence its vulnerability to fire. The structures are crowded therefore fires easily spread from one house to the other. There are also poor people who live within the business structures. The main economic activities in this market are:
• Mass production of school uniforms
• Mass production of clothes for the low income bracket
• Mass production of furniture
• Mass sale of timber
• Sale of second hand goods
• Whole sale of vegetables and cereals
• Retail of vegetables and cereals
• Training of artisan-tailors, carpenters etc
The Kibuye neighborhood suffered several fires and heavy looting. As a result many lost workshops, equipment, household goods and jobs. The club identified some families who were affected in this way and gave them a food basket comprising the following: 12 kg of maize; 2kg of sugar; 1 kg of cooking; 2 kg of sugar; 1 liter milk; 25gms of tea leaves; 4kg Porridge mix; Soap
3. IDPs returning to Kisumu and Western Kenya.
Many people from Western Kenya and Nyanza were internally displaced in Nakuru, Naivasha and parts of central Kenya. These people are struggling to come back home but most of them do not have the means. Well wishers have been collecting funds and hiring trucks to transport them back home whenever the security situation allows. The IDPs take a long time on the road because of the poor conditions of the roads and the many road blocks they come across manned by gangs of armed youth.
Many of them travel in lorries to allow them transport as many of their goods as they can. They arrive in Kisumu tired and hungry and sometimes unwell. On arrival at Kisumu, some are not able to travel to their villages for lack of transport so they camp in Kisumu and other towns awaiting secondary transportation. A group calling itself the Kisumu Response Team (KRT) and made up of many local groups/organizations and individuals was formed to address the returning IDPs.The basic objective of this group is to receive the IDPs in Kisumu, provide them with food, medical care, and secondary transport to their respective homes. The Kisumu Response Team set up a camp at St Stephens Cathedral. The camp operates both day and night and is manned by volunteers.
Kiwanis is part of the Kisumu Response Team and its member’s volunteer time at the camp. Our main role in the camp is to address the problems of the children. Ensure that they have a meal; identify the sick and ensure they get treatment; identify the ones traveling without their parents and ensure that they get home. One special role is to help the mothers who have given birth to children in the camp and on transit. And finally the Kiwanis Club of Kisumu took the responsibility of registering all IDPs who passed through the camp .This information is made available to other organizations that may have an interest in following up and further assisting the IDPs.
The camp was set up on the 1st of February and Kiwanis worked with the committee up to 14th of February. During the two weeks a total of 8724 IDPs were served at the camp. On 3rd of February a convoy of 12 buses brought in IDPs from Naivasha. Naivasha experienced some of the most vicious acts of violence in the post election skirmishes. Kiwanis took the responsibility of preparing and serving food for the arrivals. We used funds sent to us by RTC from JH & H and served a total of 942 people. This group of returnees was amongst the most traumatized set of people to pass through the camp and more than 60% of them were children below 15 years of age, many traveling without their parents. The club members together with members of Kisumu Women’s Humanitarian Initiative (KWHI) prepared a meal of rice, beans and porridge. Milk and bread was served to the children and the sick. We worked closely with St Johns Ambulance who took care of the sick.
Kiwanis pulled out of the camp on the 15th of February when the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) came in and took over the operations of the camp. Initially the government did not help in repatriating the IDPs to their native rural areas but it has changed its position and is now working with the KRCS on the same.
On the 3rd of February, 942 IDPs returning to Nyanza and Western Kenya were served with a meal prepared by the Kiwanis Club of Kisumu using funds generously donated by Reach the Children. The meal comprised rice and beans stew. Milk and bread was served to the children and the sick.
Logistical support for this exercise was provided using funds donated by the Kiwanis International Foundation.