Despite several rain showers, today we celebrated World Refugee Day at a big outdoor event in the grounds of Nairobi University. The highlights were definitely the dance performances by refugee groups from countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Somali and Ethiopia. And it was great to see one of our women’s groups there, selling their handicrafts and biscuits. (With all the long speeches at an event like this, it’s always good to have something to keep the hunger pangs at bay!)

Some of the IRC team in Kenya all logo’d up ready to promote our work. Photo: Joanne Offer/The IRC

This year’s theme was protection, so the International Rescue Committee talked about the need for more awareness-raising around the Refugees Act here in Kenya. Country director Kellie Leeson said the 2006 Act, which confers rights on refugees, was a major step forward in protecting refugee communities. But she called for the Kenya government to release clear regulations on how to implement the complex act, “so that refugees can have their rights protected effectively and consistently across Kenya.”

Kenya country director Kellie Leeson talks to a local radio journalist about our work in Kenya.
Photo: Joanne Offer/The IRC

The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, also used the day to raise awareness about the plight of refugees, in particular those from Somali. He said more must be done for their hope for “an Africa at peace”. As an organization working with thousands of Somali refugees, IRC in Kenya joins the Commissioner in his plea.

Over the course of the last few days, I’ve visited many sites in Kitale where people displaced by violence after last December’s presidential election have been living. The overwhelming majority have now returned home to replant their farms and restart their lives, but I’ve also spoken to many people who are still too scared to go back. Despite hearing their heartbreaking stories, I can’t imagine what that feels like.

Take the village of Gitwamba, for example. Men and women are now going home during the day to work on their farms, but in the evenings they retreat to the safety of the camp and the rows of tents all grouped together for security. The people here still talk of rumoured threats against their community and the evidence of the violence is hard to escape. Many of their tents are actually pitched in the rubble of buildings that have been razed to the ground – almost 900 homes were destroyed here – and they also have to walk past unpleasant graffiti spray painted during the attacks.

Tents pitched in the rubble of buildings destroyed during post-election violence.
Photo: Joanne Offer/The IRC

The effects of the violence are also evident on the farms, which were abandoned for months on end. The maize plants growing here are only about half the size of those in neighboring areas, although at least these displaced people have been able to replant and are on the way to sustaining themselves with the new crop. Still, there remains a clear need here and in other nearby areas for more peace and reconciliation efforts to ensure that people can rebuild their homes and lives in confidence.

“I took this photo at Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand, which just became eligible for the U.S. refugee resettlement program this year.

The kid was drawing a USA flag on the ground while listening to our information session about US resettlement. The info sessions were organized for camp residents to learn about the program and about America, so that they can make an informed decision whether or not to apply when the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) starts registering interested refugees next month.  

Refugees also get a chance to ask questions and express their concerns in the sessions.”

The International Rescue Committee’s Ye Thu recently returned from a four day mission to Ngapudaw Township, one of the most cyclone-thrashed districts of Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta. He shares some of his impressions.

“It seems almost every village here in Ngapudaw was severely affected by the cyclone one month ago.  It was not easy reaching the people here in small villages along flooded rivers, but together with the Myanmar Red Cross Society, we were able to bring more than 10,000 people in 16 villages emergency relief supplies, including hygiene kits and tarps.

“Our joint relief team traveled to villages where very few aid agencies if any had gone before, so for some survivors, like this lady, it was the first help they received.”

“One village we assisted is called Oaktwin.  It was hit very hard by the cyclone.  On the other side of the river is Bonetawpyae village which was completely wiped out.  All the survivors took refuge at the monastery in Oaktwin. When we arrived, we found the monks leading a prayer for the dead for a group of 40 men. Each man had lost his wife in the cyclone and most of them lost children too. It was such a sad and tragic scene. I can tell you that here and everywhere we bring aid, the people are struggling for their lives. They have lost their family, their fish farms and rice paddies and their homes. They have no way to resume their work and earn money. The people still need help badly.”

To learn more: Read a special report on the IRC’s emergency response
To help: Make an urgent gift or speak up for cyclone victims

New photos from my colleague Alison Zureick in Sierra Leone. Alison recently returned  from a field visit to rural Kono District where she was documenting IRC health programs in remote communities.

The International Rescue Committee’s child survival program is helping to save lives and improve the health of young children in Kono District, one of the areas hit hardest by Sierra Leone’s ten-year long civil war which ended in 2002.

The program, which is the first of its kind in the country, depends on IRC-trained local volunteers known as community-based distributors who identify vulnerable and ill children and provide treatment in the children’s homes. Before, many mothers had to walk miles to a local health center to get treatment for their children.  Now children receive free treatment in their own villages. 

IRC supervisor Mustapha Bawoh reviews the ledger book of Richard Mbawa, the community-based distributor for Madina village. As a community-elected health worker, Richard provides first line treatment to children under five with diarrhea (“ron belle”), malaria (“warm bodi”) and pneumonia—three of the most common causes of death in young children. Richard and his fellow volunteers also encourage mothers to take their children to the local clinic if their conditions worsen and to attend monthly health education sessions.

A young mother named Anamie sits with her daughter, Christiana, who recently received treatment from Richard for malaria. “Before community-based treatment we had to walk long distances to the clinic and pay for treatment,” Anamie says.  “Now our children receive free treatment in the village.”

Susan Matthews, the maternal and child health aide at the local health center in Kodama displays mortality data for the area served by the center.  Community-based distributors record and report on deaths in their communities to help identify vulnerable groups and unmet needs.

Sia Kanessie, a community-based distributor in Kodama, displays her supplies for treating childhood illness.  “Since I started working as a volunteer, the sickness in the community has gone down,” Sia says. “I like what I do because I get to help children have well bodi (good health). I encourage mothers to take their children to the clinic and to breast feed for a child’s first six months. I also work at night, making sure mothers use bed nets to prevent the child from getting malaria.”

A mother prepares her child to be measured and weighed at a monthly outreach session in the community of Small Sefadu. 

Health center staff and IRC child survival staff work together to track the height and weight of children under five to identify those who are malnourished. 

Traditional birth attendants sing about safe motherhood at a monthly pregnant women’s support group in the community of Bangabaya. The IRC works with the attendants to encourage pregnant women to visit the clinic for regular check-ups and for delivery.  Bangabaya is one of four communities in Kono where IRC is piloting its safe motherhood program. 

IRC child survival coordinator Dorice Manasseh introduces the pregnant women’s support group at Bangabaya to IRC’s safe motherhood initiative.  The program aims to increase the number of women giving birth at the clinics by improving access and quality of care.  Since many women find it difficult to reach the clinic,the IRC is helping the communities around Bangabaya to build a traditional house nearby where women can stay comfortably a few days before they go into labor.  The IRC also provides the clinic with a midwife and basic drugs and equipment for emergency obstetric care.

To learn more: Read the full story

To help: Give children in Sierra Leone a fighting chance at life by supporting the IRC’s effective child survival program. Your gift will be tripled, allowing IRC health workers to save thousands of lives in communities across Sierra Leone. Donate now - triple your impact >