Facing Uncertainty - World Renew

There are reasons for hope. In 2010, Kenyans approved a new constitution. The legislative and legal framework for next week’s elections has been carefully put into place. Judicial reforms have restored people’s confidence in the judiciary. In addition, for the last five years civil society and the church have acted to reduce tension between communities and promote harmony. Since 2008, we as World Renew have worked in seven hot spots across Kenya to decrease tensions and improve harmony between communities in conflict.

Just last week I spent three days with one of our partner staff, Kiambogo, one of these hot spots in the central Rift Valley. We trained community leaders from six tribes and facilitated community dialogues in two villages involving about 140 residents. On Sunday, Kenyans from across the country came to Nairobi to attend a massive prayer rally for peace at which six presidential candidates pledged to accept the results of the election.

This week, Kenya held its second televised presidential debate with all eight of the candidates participating and forcing the presidential candidates to defend their records and share what they will do for the country if elected. Kenyans watched the debates with great interest. Today we received a report from leaders we trained in Bonita, another hot spot area in central Rift Valley, who resolved to resist efforts to incite dispute from a local politician. Yet, challenges remain. Historic issues such as disputed land allocations and tribal boundaries have remained unresolved and are still a source of widespread tension. Trust between communities is fragile. There has been a lack of voter education, which increases the risk of voter manipulation. Politics are still largely driven by ethnic loyalty, raising the risk of polarization and marginalization of minority ethnic groups. In some areas, people have received threats and have been forced to move. In other areas there have been outbreaks of violence.

Another concern is that the culture of accepting electoral defeat is very weak in Kenya. Accusations of attempts to rig votes are already being made. In addition to these concerns, two well-known politicians who are running for President and Vice-President are also facing charges by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity for World Renew Canada their alleged involvement in the 2008 post-election violence. Their trials start this year.

For the past 3 months, World Renew Kenya has been collaborating closely with others to prepare for this election. We've reviewed and upgraded our security practices, ramped up our conflict-prevention activities in strategic areas, tied ourselves into national monitoring systems set up by the UN, prepositioned ourselves for quick response in areas where we and our partners have strong program presence, and strengthened staff care.

To minimize risk to ourselves, from March 1 to 10, we will stop all field activities and work from our homes. We will continue to monitor the national situation, maintain communication with Burlington and Grand Rapids, support our staff and partners by phone, and develop rapid response plans and proposals as needed. If phone networks shut down, we will communicate by satellite phone.

We are hopeful that Kenya will have free, fair, and peaceful elections—but we are also mindful that there is still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen in March and April. We have prepared ourselves as best we can for whatever unfolds.

This past Monday, one of our senior national staff reflected on II Kings 6 during staff devotions. It is the story of Elisha and the Arameans. The Arameans had surrounded the place where Elisha lived. Elisha's servant was gripped by fear. Elisha replied, "Don't be afraid, those who are with us are more th
an those who are with them." Elisha then prayed that God would open his servant’s eyes. When the servant looked up, he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire. Regardless of what unfolds in Kenya over the next two months, we are trusting that God is watching over us and will aid us.

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