CRC Director Visits Victims of Kenya Violence

Visiting a camp for displaced persons in Kenya, Rev. Jerry Dykstra saw first-hand the life-saving role that the Christian Reformed Church has had in helping to feed thousands of people who fled violence in the East African country following a disputed election last year.

Since late last year, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee has worked in partnership with the Reformed Church of East Africa to help identify the needs in the area as well as helped to purchase and distribute food and other supplies to address the needs of the displaced persons. The partners that helped fund the food are Dorcas Aid and Mennonite Central Committee.

"I was impressed by the incredible impact our relief effort is having on people living in that area," says Dykstra, executive director of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

Accompanying Dykstra on the trip was Andrew Ryskamp, CRWRC's director in the United States.

Rev. Samson Akoru, general secretary of the Reformed Church of East Africa, was with them on the visits to Katilu and Lodwar camps, as well as Chris Schiundu, CRWRC’s Kenya relief manager.

Dykstra and Ryskamp made the one-week trip to get a look at CRC programs in the country in which more than 1,000 people died in post-election violence, thousands were displaced, and hundreds of homes and business were destroyed. Ryskamp was also there for CRWRC-related meetings.

Earlier this year, Mwai Kibaki, the Kenyan president, and Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, signed a power-sharing agreement after weeks of violence and political unrest.

One of the towns Dykstra and Ryskamp visited in Kenya was Eldoret, an area that experienced church burnings and other destruction and violence. In Eldoret, they saw the conference center run by one of the church denominations that had been seriously damaged.

Dykstra says the peace among the rival groups seems fragile, “but the faith of the people is real and their joy is real and you can't help but be touched by that."

Besides visiting relief projects, they attended worship services and met with church officials. They described seeing people praying fervently, feeling the exuberance of people that the church is helping feed, and meeting people of other faiths who called Christians their brothers and sisters.

They also spoke to officials along the border with Uganda about HIV prevention programs, heard powerful testimonies from people who spoke about how God is working in their lives to help them deal with HIV or prevent it.

In one case, they met and spoke with a woman who parlayed a chicken into some candles, which she in turn traded for sheep and now she has a prized cow – serving as a reminder of how people can better themselves financially from the ground up as long as they have encouragement.

They also heard that church leaders in Kenya would like training in developing stewardship programs and most notably want the church in North America to continue playing a role in bringing about reconciliation in the aftermath of the political violence.

"We are trying to sort that out and where our role might be in reconciliation," says Ryskamp, adding that CRWRC already has staff in Kenya that is trained in the area of reconciliation. "We cannot just provide resources. That is not helpful or sustainable. We need to encourage education and leadership development."

Additional needs the church can fulfill in Kenya, they were told, could come through education programs sponsored by Christian Reformed World Missions. Business development could be expanded with the help of Partners Worldwide, a faith-based business development organization that is supported by the CRC.

CRWRC has been working in Kenya since 1983. CRWM is currently expanding its work in the area, particularly in education.

Both Dykstra and Ryskamp said the trip brought them back home with a deeper faith and commitment to the work of the church.

"We can't solve the problems, but we can be part of the solutions by having well-trained leadership to come alongside the Kenyan people especially in the area of reconciliation," says Dykstra.

-Chris Meehan, CRC Communications