IDP Camp

Our second day of being in Nakuru was by far my favorite. The team headed a little out of town to an Internally Displaced Persons Camp. Lois has had the opportunity to work with a school there for the last several years. While the last Presidential Election was taking place a struggle broke out between two tribal groups because it seems both parties tried to rig the election. One man became President while the other more powerful man became the Prime Minister. The tribe of the Prime Minister was not happy about the election thus the fighting. Many people in both tribes are without homes. Today we rode past burnt down homes, heard stories of house burnings, and killings. People were said to be pulled off the matatus and asked their name or tribe and if they were of the certain tribe they were shot on the spot. Our translator said she didn’t leave her house for a month. In Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi, the worst of the fighting took place. It was so bad the police even refused to go in…once they finally did, they went in with tear gas, which seeped into the shacks of all the people living in the slums. I cannot even fathom.

The IDP Camp is a place outside of Nakuru where many displaced people came to leave. First, they moved to the campgrounds for safety and now they have bought a section of land so they can live and begin to rebuild their lives. At first I didn’t understand why after so many years they didn’t want to try and move back to their homeland, but after talking to a teacher, Helen, I now understand. Helen is one of the strongest most beautiful people I have ever met. She is so full of joy. Her smile lights up her face and you cannot help but smile in return. Being in her presence made me long for heaven so full of joy and love she was. After our morning with the 150 primary kids Helen invited us to her home. Of course we took her up on it. As we walked hand in hand with some of the school kids through the sea of tents I caught a glimpse of the Old Testament…living in tents and not having a home. It gave me a new perspective on Isaac and Jacob. J As we walked into Helen’s tent I became immediately aware of the sights and sounds around me. The stench was so overwhelming I had to breath through my mouth or else I would have fainted or vomited. The heat was brutal and we were there in “winter”. But worst of all were the bugs. I was afraid to stand upright for fear my head would hit a pole or the top of the tent and bugs would start crawling in my hair. But it was in this place that my heart truly broke. Here was this woman who was so proud of the home she had made for her family. She was so thankful for all she had and loved the Lord with all her heart. She was grinning from ear to ear as she showed us around. Then the question of how she got to the IDP Camp came up. Her countenance changed in an instance. Her smile was gone and the tears began to flow. Helen was from a place about an hour away from Nakuru when her home was burned down. Thankfully no one was killed in the fire, but her family was forced to move to the camp in fear of their lives. Once they arrived, her husband left her with their 3 kids to fend for herself. What keeps these people here in this place is fear. Fear of moving back…Fear because it was your neighbors that burnt your house down and you now have know home to return to. Can you imagine? I cannot…

After our time in the IDP Camp, my heart began to struggle. Poverty is everywhere, disease runs rampant, women and children are raped…often times by their own family members, and children are left to fend for themselves in the streets…yes, my heart struggles. I want to scream and shake people and say wake up, change, make a difference…I want to cry out to God...don’t you see this!! Why does it seem the evil are prospering while your people are living in what I would consider hell on earth? But I am reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness. I know God is sovereign in all, but in the moment my heart and mind don’t meet up. I want to cry out for justice to be served. But, God is so good. He gave me this verse today. It is from Psalm 10 verses 12-18… “Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account’? But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take in your hand. The victim commits himself to you: you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. The Lord is king for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defend the fatherless and oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.” Praise be the Lord…