Reasons for Hope

By Fred Witteveen ~ April 2012

Easter is a time of hope. The resurrection of our Lord gives us confidence that despite the pain and suffering in the world, all things are being made new. So we keep our eyes open to signs of the resurrection.

Those of you who follow Kenya in the international press are aware that tensions are growing in Kenya. When Kenyans go to the polls early next year, they will be not only electing Members of Parliament and a President but county Representatives as well. New county boundaries and the upcoming elections have set off intense competition for resources and pre-election violence. Minority groups are being pushed out of areas where they have lived for generations.

Along the Turkana/Pokot border there has been an increase in cattle raids, fighting around government installations, and the expulsion of minority residents from their communities. Tension and fear have increased significantly along the corridor between the Turkanas and the Pokots, and yet there is reason for hope.

When the Turkana families fled Sigor in Pokot last month, they found help in neighboring Marich, another Pokot village where CRWRC has been working for the past year. Chief Daniel assured the safety of those displaced families.

While tensions in the region are high, the villages Marich, Orwa, and Kainuk have remained at peace with each other. The plan to establish the common market continues to be implemented. Local committees have been elected, and a joint committee with equal representation of Pokots and Turkanas has been appointed. With strong support from local administrators, the committee set a goal to publicly launch the markets in late April or early May. Each community is organizing a market day, and they will shop in each other's markets, significantly increasing interactions between their communities and building peaceful co-existence that is crucial to the peace process. The heightened tensions in the region will keep some people from shopping in each other's communities, but the determined faith of these communities to forge ahead using a lot of their own resources is creating a feeling of optimism that life can be different.

In drought-affected Western Samburu, communities live in fear of each other and have little confidence in their government to protect them. Upcoming elections have increased the tension between groups. Nakuru Inter Diocesan Christian Community services (NIDCCS), a new partner of CRWRC, has provided emergency food aid and organized peace-building activities. With the support of CRWRC, NIDCCS has initiated a series of dialogues to foster greater understanding between groups. An unexpected outcome of this effort was a request from the local administration to expand the dialogues to other areas. A proposal will be developed to broaden community engagement efforts.

In this time of increased tension and worry about what might happen in Kenya, we press on knowing that our risen Savior shows himself in all the places we go and assures us that he is with us and is working the transformation of human hearts and community life.

Item of Thanks:
CRWRC Kenya, in partnership with the University of Manitoba and Canadian Food Grains Bank, has received a three-year grant for a maternal child health program in the Coastal Province. The program will integrate our work in food security and public health. The public launch in Canada will be April 24 and in Kenya on May 10. The Canadian High Commissioner for Kenya will attend the Kenya program launch.

Items for Prayer:

• Pray for peace in Kenya.
• Pray for rain in drought-prone areas of Kenya.
• Pray for successful implementation of our new maternal child health program.

About Fred Witteveen

Fred Witteveen joined CRWRC in 2007 as Country Consultant for Kenya.

Prior to this Fred was the lead pastor for 16 years at Friendship Community CRC, a multi ethnic, multi racial congregation in the Jane-Finch area, Toronto, Ontario. Jane-Finch is one of the most diverse and complex urban neighborhoods in the world, and among Canada’s poorest. It was in this neighborhood that Fred learned firsthand how, in order for a church to grow healthy in a poor community and have a credible witness, it needs to seek the shalom of the community. The constant challenge to overcome was how to do that with limited resources. As a result, Fred discovered the value of cross denominational collaboration and partnership. When the opportunity came to serve with CRWRC in Kenya, it seemed a natural next step.

In Kenya, Fred gives leadership and support to a wide variety of national partners engaged in faith-based community development HIV andAids, agricultural development, micro business development, peace building, and conflict management.

Email:  fwitteveen@crwrc.org