Home
Kenya: ICRC scaling down operations in Mount Elgon
06-07-2009 News Release 137/09
Nairobi (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is considerably curtailing its operations in Kenya's Mount Elgon region, north-west of the capital Nairobi, after two years in the area.
'' The ICRC has carried out several projects that have had a positive impact on the people in this region. The projects were intended to address an emergency situation,'' said Joanna Trinidad, the outgoing head of the ICRC's office in Bungoma. " As the situation in the Mount Elgon region has stabilized, there is no longer a need for us to maintain a permanent presence here. "
Last week, the ICRC closed its Bungoma office. The organization's Nairobi regional delegation will continue to monitor the situation in the Mount Elgon region, however, and to work with the Kenya Red Cross Society, especially to help people restore contact with relatives that was lost amid post-election violence in 2008. The cases of 21 people seeking to restore family links are still pending.
The ICRC started working in Mount Elgon in May 2007 in response to an outbreak of violence. In cooperation with the Kenya Red Cross, it carried out monthly food distributions until October 2008 from which a total of 72,000 people benefited.
One hundred widows are successfully running their own businesses after receiving start-up capital from the ICRC in early 2009. Another 1,600 people received payment for clearing roads and farms as part of a cash-for-work initiative carried out jointly with the Kenya Red Cross. The money was used to purchase items that the families could otherwise not have afforded.
A seed and tools project helped 60,000 people to grow their own crops and regain their self-sufficiency. In addition, 30,000 displaced people were given kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, jerrycans and sleeping mats to help them cope with their most urgent needs.
For further information, please contact:
Anne Kilimo, ICRC Nairobi, tel: +254 272 3963 of +254 722 202039
Anne Mucheke, ICRC Nairobi, tel: +254 272 8387 or +254 733 660076
-
Share
|
Back to top
