DWS Country Programs
Kenya
Persistent food shortages and harsh conditions in Turkana. Refugee school children being fed at Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwest Kenya. |
The aim of the LWF/DWS Kenya Program is to address the causes and consequences of human suffering and poverty amongst vulnerable communities in Kenya through participatory relief and development interventions in partnership with local communities and organizations.
The DWS program started as a liaison office in the port city of Mombasa, Kenya, providing logistical support for relief activities in southern Sudan, and has managed the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwest Kenya since 1992.
The program is evolving to prepare for eventual repatriation and rehabilitation in Sudan, and to give increased attention to the Turkana community within the hosting areas around the camp.
Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
DWS manages the Kakuma Refugee Camp and serves a lead agency role under a tripartite agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Kenyan government. The program manages food ration distribution, water and sanitation, security, education and community services. The camp is now home to over 81,000 refugees, mainly from Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia, reflecting the complex insecurity realities of the region. Efforts in the camp continue to emphasize a rights based approach and greater involvement of the refugees in planning and implementation.
Turkana
In recognizing that a long-established refugee camp cannot exist in isolation from its host community, a joint emphasis for both Kakuma and Turkana will launch activities to redress some of the negative impacts on the host communities as well as provide assistance to both the refugees in the camp and the Turkana around the camp.
With support provided by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Kenyan government and Action by Churches Together (ACT), DWS has provided emergency assistance to the drought-affected Turkana community.
Visit the LWF/DWS Kenya program's Web site.
For further information please contact:
Mr Tore Samuelsson, Program Officer
Local representative
Mr Philip Wijmans, Director
