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Kenya | 9 April 2012
Located near Kenya's remote northwest border with Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia, Kakuma refugee camp was created by the UNHCR in 1992 in response to a refugee crisis sparked by civil war in Sudan.
The camp has since been expanded to offer refuge for up to 100,000 refugees from volatile regions in Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, D.R. Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and other countries.
Kakuma is presently host to over 91,000 forcibly displaced men, women and children. In recent months, up to 150 new refugees have been arriving on a daily basis - most from Sudan and South Sudan.
"Some said that they walked for two to three months to get here, and left their elderly behind as they could not complete the arduous journey."
"If the current pace of arrivals continues, Kakuma camp will likely reach full capacity by June." -Guy Avognon, UNHCR Kakuma
The UNHCR and Kenyan government are discussing plans to establish a new refugee camp near Kakuma, with the capacity to host another 100,000 people.
In 2011, IAFR developed a partnership with an association of diverse churches in Kakuma refugee camp called United Refugee Churches (URC). The URC is actively caring for refugees in the camp and needs our support in prayer as refugee camp systems struggle to cope with the influx of refugees. IAFR will visit Kakuma again in May 2012. Source: UNHCR, AllAfrica.com, Daily Nation |
