WORKING THROUGH THE CHAOS IN KENYA

Yesterday was a remarkable day for Kenya. The two main parties that are at loggerheads about the election outcome literally gave the public something to live for.They presented the country with rules of engagement as the continue to dialogue on the way forward.Thank God for people like H.E. Koffi Annan.Both sides seemed to have a firm grip on the need for peace in Kenya.

But as they continue to dialogue....Kenyans continue to pray for peace. Our staff in Nairobi continues to be affected by the unrest.Today being a Saturday seems to be peaceful. But during the week there are times when members of our staff that don't show up especially those in volatile areas.They call with horrific tales of watching people being slaughtered.Others have continually stayed awake inorder to protect their families.By the time they get to work they are fatigued.

Others tell you how they have to leave evening classes in the middle after receiving phone calls from family members, neighbors or friends telling them of the situation at home. On the days there are chaos, meetings have to be cancelled or postponed for another day....if there will be calm.Kenya is in a limbo because of this uncertainty.

Also pray for those that have lost their stuff in all these chaos.Families that have to literally start again.Pray for God to help them to Forgive. Pray that their families will also embrace the concept of forgiveness.A good number of Kenyans who have lost their properties are struggling with bitterness and a murderous hatred.When most of us go to sleep, we pray that we will wake up in the morning. But when Most Kenyans go to sleep, they fervently pray they will actually wake up in the morning because it is so unpredictable.

We thank God that there seems to be calm.But pray with us for peace...total peace.

KENYA TWR TEAM PRAYING FOR BETTER SECURITY

In Kenya right now, when you get to where you are going safely,you thank God.When you leave home and get back safely, you are grateful. No, not because they were not grateful before.But now our hearts are just more aware of God's protection.

It is the same status when it comes to travelling as far as our setting up our Sifa Fm is concerned.

REWIND TO SIFA FM VOI

A view of the community we are going to be reaching through SIFA FM.

Sifa Fm is a project of Trans World Radio-Kenya. We have been working on this station for a long time now.We have experienced enough hurdles to last us a lifetime.But the hurdle plate got a visitor two weeks ago when our key technical person - David Katana - was Carjacked and robbed of everything. He was in a bus on his way to Voi where we are setting up our Fm station when this happened. David recovered and moved on and is now overseeing the last phase of the set up. He obviously needs your continued prayers.

FAST FORWARD TO SIFA FM GARISSA

Two weeks ago a team that was led by our Finance and Administration manager Alfred Toboso was sent to Garissa to do research that would help with necessary decisions during the setting up of the fm station. That is only part of the story. 30 Kilometres before they got to Garissa they met with two Public Service Vehicles, full of passengers. These passengers had been stripped of all their belongings and harrased by highway bandits. Our team together with the passenger vehicles then drove back for about a kilometre to a place they felt it would be 'safe' to wait for the security escort from Garissa. It was an agnosing 3hour wait. The police finally came but they had also experienced an attack by the same bandits who had shot at them. But the police seemed to have fought them off successfully. Only when the security escort got there, was our team able to drive on to Garissa.

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Security of our staff is a constant prayer request as travelling becomes a constant requirement during the set up phase of these Fm stations. We are grateful for the Protection God continues to grant us.Pray with us for His continued mercies.

THE TWO FACES OF KENYA...

The irony that is Kenya is that there are literally two faces of Kenya in this crisis. It is like the sunrise and sunset.

This is a story that most of our international community will not be told by the international press. So here it is.

KENYA HAS TWO FACES.

LITERALLY.

The first face is that which the external publics of Kenya have witnessed through the international media. They have seen police killings,stone throwing youth who are shouting endlessly at the police, weary women with babies on their backs with no where to go or crowded in a displaced people's camp, children wailing because of the confusion that surrounds them and yet with no one to comfort them...These are the images the international commmunity is getting.

But there is a side that the international community is not aware of.This face of Kenya is the one that watches the news in a very detached manner.Their children are going to school.Their wives are going for shopping.Their teens are catching late night movies.They watch the news and wonder what human could do that to another?It is like it is happening in another time, in another place like someone put it.And it is true.That is the face the international community is not seeing.

Kenya has issues.But guess what?Not all of Kenya is in flames.Parts of Kenya are.But not all of it.No.Don't read between the lines here.Just read what you see that indeed Kenya has two faces.There are parts of this city that have never experienced the looting and the deathtoll.

There are estates right now in Nairobi you can't go past a certain hour because of the insecurity.So when 5pm gets here, people just up and leave their offices.Yet there are other people who just keep working like nothing happened.

The Rift Valley, Nyanza, Coast and Nairobi provinces are the most affected regions in Kenya. Of course there are varying degrees.Nairobi is mostly affected when protestors are trying to get to the main park,Uhuru park, and they are blocked.As a result there is a lot of vandalism and lives getting lost.Obviously that cannot be said in isolation to the fact that some of the protestors are not out to express their dissatisfaction with the government.But are there waiting to pounce on innocent people.Even the protestors have two faces. Yes, that is the irony that is Kenya.And that irony is what the international community should remember as they watch their television screens.

WHEN BEING ALIVE GOES TO THE NEXT LEVEL..

Are you and your family fine and safe?

That is the first question you ask anyone right now in Kenya.At least most of us are.This is because of the frequent protests that are meant to be peaceful that suddenly turn into some horrorifying fighting matches between the protestors and the police with very unnerving results.

When you live in a period like this in Kenya, the gift of life becomes exactly that, a gift. It becomes something you thank God for all the time.

As we thank God for that gift, there is a huge number of Kenyans who are bitter because of the loved ones they have lost. They are also bitter about the properties and businesses they have lost. Livelihoods have been lost in the millions and probably billions of shillings.Someone once said...it takes time to build, but an even shorter time to destroy.That is a statement that is true in Kenya.

When you have papers reading like this.....

More lives lost...

More killed as rivals differ over peace talks...

Police gun down three gangsters...

6 killed as Annan arrives for crisis talks...

You just hope that you will wake up and it will all be a nightmare.But you wake up and then you realize that this is real life and that you are actually a part of it.It is not in someone else's country.That is why life in Kenya right now is precious and something to be truly grateful for.

When any of our staff haven't reported, you have people asking, where are they?We also try to find out what has happened to those that haven't come in. When we sit for our morning devotions, you can see that we are grateful that God has given us another day. Indeed we are.

BOTTOM LINE IN THESE KENYAN MEDIATIONS...

His Excellency Koffi Annan, former UN Secretary General, arrived in Kenya yesterday. Shortly afterwards he gave a statement that was cautious which clearly indicated he understood the prevailing tension. I think Ghana's President John Agyekum Kufuor did a good job in briefing the former UN General Secretary.

The encouraging thing is both sides of the political divide have shown an eagerness to discuss this stalemate.

When you are in Kenya and watching the news, you tend to be calmer than when you are outside the country. We know that there are chaos going on.We see that on our television sets and our Fm stations are having endless call ins where Kenyans are expressing their opinions on how to end the stalemate.Funny thing is, when l spoke to someone in the UK the other day, they actually were more horrified than l was.Yes, the chaos are painting a grim picture of this country. But Kenyans are a resilient people who are holding hope close to their hearts. A hope of a calmer and peaceful tomorrow.

Bottom line is that no matter how many mediators come into Kenya, if these leaders choose not to change, they won't change.

Kenyans are praying that God will change the hearts of these leaders.Like it was mentioned in an earlier blog, both sides have dug in their heels.We need God to soften the hearts of these leaders so that they will think about the suffering populace that is the Kenyan people.

Pray with us.

PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF KENYA

It pains to see children running as fast as they can away from skirmishes. It pains to see children wet, cold and hungry. Something is really wrong with that picture. Children are supposed to be protected from all of these. They are supposed to feel safe.

As this stalemate takes on different phases, the children and women of Kenya are the most affected. There's a big number of children who don't know where their parents are.Others have become orphans. While others have been hurt in this period. We need to pray for the children.

A number of these children have witnessed their parents killed while others watched as their mothers and sisters got raped. What are in the minds of these little ones as they take in all this? This is an important question.This is because they are children today and adults tomorrow. Is this how we are teaching them to handle disagreements? What tells us as a Kenyan society these children won't be tomorrow's attackers? Pray for these children. Pray that they will grow up knowing dialogue, forgiveness and tolerance.

Pray for those who are trying to report back to school but cannot.Pray for those who have already gone back to school.Pray for calm in their hearts.

PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF KENYA

KENYANS JUST WANT TO GET TO WORK

Today is the second day of protests in Kenya. Yes, there is a lot of running around the country. But simply put...Kenyans want to work. A number of Kenyans have lost their jobs because of these protests. Most of them are now risking to get to work. You cannot tell a Kenyan who depends totally on this one job to run amok and hope their job will be there when they are done running. Yes we need to have wrongs righted.But Kenyans want to know they have jobs at the end of the day because that is how they will feed their families. A testament to that is the reduction in the numbers of protestors.

So as it is in Kenya and particularly in Nairobi where most of our staff is....it is quiet in the mornings but as the day wears on, the running begins. Right now in Kibera especially the DCs camp, there is a stand off between police and protestors. You can get in to go home but you can't get out. If you live near Kibera or any other slum,tact is what you need to get in or out. In most parts of the Nairobi, there is minimal or no transport. So people are walking to work or getting lifts from their friends. When buses get to where you are, you thank God and you move on.

But if you are not reading this anywhere, get it from here.Kenyans just want to work. They want this conflict worked out by the warring parties and they want to move on. They already know that it is the common man who will lose when all is said and done. So pray for Kenyans. Pray for us as we try to get back to our normal routine.Pray that our leaders will finally get to sit down and dialogue about this stalemate.

PRAY FOR KENYA

WHO SAID SOMETHING POSITIVE IS NOT HAPPENING IN KENYA?

When you watch international media that is covering Kenya, you wouldn’t know that anything positive is happening in the midst of all these violence. You would think the whole country is ablaze and there is no one doing anything about it other than the people being flown in to mediate among the warring political parties - ODM and PNU.

But who said something positive is not happening in Kenya?

CHURCHES UNITING

The people of Kenya are praying and the Churches and their church leaders are on the lead. This is something positive. Kenya has never witnessed such unity among church leaders. Half the time churches are fighting amongst themselves. But this violence and disillusionment has brought church leaders from every corner of this country together. Local media is awash with press conferences held by a united front of churches calling for peace. To Kenyans, this is a miracle. Churches are now reading from the same script. Unity like Christ wanted.
Who said something positive is not happening?

CHURCHES ARE ON THEIR KNEES

Churches are now holding corporate fasting and praying sessions for this country we call Kenya. They are praying for peace. Most of these sessions are scheduled to run for the whole of January and February 2008. Some churches are praying and fasting indefinitely...until the country is totally in a state of Peace. This is positive because Christians around the country are now exercising their faith and rising up to the challenge.

Who said something positive is not happening?

FORGIVENESS AMONG TRIBES

Yes...this violence has been seen as tribal. And it partly is. But there is something no one is telling the world...that churches are now having members in their congregations from different tribes ask for forgiveness. Yes. It is happening. A kikuyu or a luo or kalenjin or a kamba stands up and confesses the sins of his or her community in front of the church and proceeds to ask for forgiveness. You can later see this person being embraced with forgiveness by the other congregants. This is unprecedented. Congregants are weeping openly as they do this, including our men who seemingly don't cry. Forgiveness is beginning to take root. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Who said something positive is not happening?

ENTER THE MEDIA
In the middle of the crisis, last week, the Media Council of Kenya had all the media houses have an hour of prayer. During this hour, interdenominational groups had their leaders come out to pray. On top of that, it was not only the radio and tv stations on this, all the leading newspapers carried the same headline...SAVE OUR COUNTRY. It was and is a laudable concerted effort by the Kenyan press. This also is unprecedented given the cut throat competitiveness in our media houses. Again this commendable effort by the media cannot go unnoticed.

Who said something positive is not happening?

A TWR-KENYA SURVIVOR SPEAKS...

A SURVIVOR SPEAKS...

December 30th 2007

I got a phone call that changed my life. A friend of mine called me and warned me to stay away from my house because some people were coming to harm me. A good number of this people are my friends.

This became the turning point of my life as l knew it. I could not believe that people l called friends were turning against me.

All l had with me were the clothes on my back and my phone. And that was enough because all l needed to do was stay alive. Getting out of the slums now was the problem. After three hours of being hidden in different houses, l together with the family l had gone to visit, finally got out with the help of some friends.

By the time l was leaving the war zone my house was swept clean by the looters. My windows had been smashed, doors broken. They kept calling out my name and saying they had come for what belonged to them. I was hearing all this commotion because l was just next door. After the commotion, someone occupied my house. No, not by one of my friends. But by one of the looters and his family. I cannot go back there for fear of my life. Tension is just too high.

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Mike is starting his life all over again, literally. Pray for him so that he is able to heal. It is painful to know that people you called friends wanted to harm you. It is hurtful to actually know they destroyed your property. Lets rally around people like Mike in this country and support.

This is when Christianity gets practical.

PRAY FOR ALL THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED LIKE MICHAEL.

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF KENYA

STORIES FROM TWR-KENYA STAFF...

I was in the house when the screams and gunshots began. The gunshots were endless. Groups of armed men walked this estate. They wanted to know if we were hiding the Kikuyus. Of course we were but we stood our ground and prayed for the looters not to get wild. After what seemed like an eternity of near fist-heated negotiations, they went away promising to return. Return they did. This time people watched helplessly as they burned businesses to the ground. This was the livelihood of very many people.

Children in the estate just got so terrified that they would physically tremble, wet their pants, refuse to eat and have endless nightmares.

So we made a decision. Literally the whole estate (consisting of hundreds of families) made a decision… that all the men in the estate would not sleep and are still not sleeping.

They stay up the whole night to guard our homes. The women on the other hand stay in doors but are alert in case of any incident. That is what has been happening since the 30th December 2007. Men in our estate go to work with drowsy eyes for lack of sleep. A neighboring estate now looks like something from Hotel Rwanda. This was a war zone where people died.

The most affected people are those living in the slums or bordering the slums.

There is an estate that has shells for houses, burned shells that is. Gangs came into these places and just took everything. It was traumatizing. Still is. Those that looted have already occupied a number of these houses. The owners are now homeless and refugees in their own country.

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF KENYA