Today we cooked uji (porridge) for 347 children with mixed liquid multivitamins right down in the community. It was: School. Outside. All day. With 150 more children. It was a combined effort with MYAA, volunteers, school staff and local mothers all helping help record, prepare, cook, serve, wash hot porridge. Kenya Red Cross treated minor aliments, recorded names, and distributed to all the familes non food items to help get people started again. These included blankets, tarps, soap, mosquito nets and cooking utensils. For many people they have lost everything in their procession. That’s food, photos, documents, cash, medical documentation, school uniforms & books, shoes, furniture and personal items.
The burnt out area started to be cleared today, with stacks of corrugated iron, charcoal, timbers all being stacked and cleared. The land lords that rent shacks to the community are now set to rebuild in a matter of days. This cost comes from the land lords as it is their business and livelihood and already some have started this process but we estimate it could take around three to four months before this is completed as the scale is large. It is also hard to say how many people will remain here as the number of occupants was very high making it very difficult to guess how many people will hold onto KCC. However for many people this was home and they had their life, families and work right here. The mood in the community is mixed but over all people have come to the reality of what has taken place, and will wither decide to move on or start again here.
Tomorrow we are cooking even more food than we have done today as hunger increases in women and men. We are plannning to feed everyone and anyone who asks. We are also distributing school books and pencils to students from two primary schools so they are able to get back to school, minus a uniform, along with cooking food all day long.
Shelter has been provided by some of the local churches on their grounds and also with the provisions or tarps from Kenya Red Cross. Tonight people will have blankets and somewhere to sleep. On Monday night people simply slept outside or with friends and family in other areas around the outskirts of the damaged area.
We are hosting a community wide two day Medical Camp this Friday & Saturday that is open to everyone. We are running the camp from the school and will be serving cooked food at the camp also. This camp will cover Minor Aliments, Immunizations and Growth & Monitoring, Family Planning, VCT (HIV testing), Public Forums and Pharmaceutical.
People in general are holding up and making use of what ever little they have. Its hard to give any idea of normality again.
Our main focus is children but we are trying to help as many people as we can. Getting people fed, children back to school and treated as necessary.
Since posting last night we have been amazed and inspired by the support received from so many people across the world. Through Facebook shares, comments, offers for help, emails and donations. Every type support, means something. It all ads up to a bigger picture and has given us room to make an impact. So thank you everyone who has made contact and got involved. We truly appreciate it.