News
Refugees in Kenya Still in Desperate Need
As representatives from the United Nations and the United States converge in Kenya to encourage an agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, little news of violence has made headlines.
However, Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) Communications Director Randy Hurst says that no news is not necessarily good news – at least not in this case.
"There is an ongoing refugee crisis that no one is hearing about, and it is going to continue for many months," Hurst states. "The number of displaced Assemblies of God (AG) people remains at more than 70,000. AG believers in Kenya are sharing their homes, food and clothing with many of those displaced by the violence, but they still desperately need our help."
Hurst explains that there are two main reasons the more than 600,000 displaced people don't return to their homes: their homes have been destroyed in the violence; or they have been warned by other tribes not to return to their homes under threat of death.
"There are many thousands of AG people living on church compounds right now," Hurst says, "but missionaries and national church leaders are continuing to find other AG members in the refugee camps. They are doing their best to find room for these people on AG properties as the camps are only temporary."
"Right now, and for months to come, people need to be fed," Hurst adds, "and with quantities of food becoming available, we have the opportunity to buy food to feed a family of five for a little more than $2 a day, $16 a week or $63 a month – and that's something nearly everyone can help with."
According to AGWM statistics, currently there are more than 1 million church members and 4,000 AG churches in Kenya. Hurst says that 7 percent of AG Kenya members are displaced. To help comprehend the statistical measure, Hurst says that in the United States it would be the same as 200,000 AG members being without a home.
For further information go to: http://AGRelief.com.
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