4 Weeks in Kenya

The people of the IDP Camp

As we spent more and more time at the IDP in Maai Mahiu, we learned more about how this camp came to be and the stories of the people within it. A special thank you to Christy Dueck, who was a member of our HFH family. She is an eloquent speaker and was very inspirational throughout our journey. She is currently working on becoming a Reverend and did a beautiful talk to her church upon her arrival home. I have taken some of the details she shared to share with you.

The IDP at Maai Mahiu was a refugee camp for 335 Kikuyu tribe members after the 2007 post-election violence. These Kikuyu members experienced violent ethnic cleansing – 1,000 people were killed and 600,000 were found homeless. The people of the Kikuyu tribe walked over 80 miles to safety. When they arrived in Maai Mahiu only four families could afford to rebuild their homes, the problem was that everyone needed homes. So they went to the Kenyan government and demanded remuneration. The Kenyan government delivered and gave each family the equivalent of $300 US. They pooled all their money together and bought the land in Maai Mahiu. Then they went to Habitat for Humanity for partnership and a 5-year plan was developed. First the land was divided into villages – which were all qualities that were felt they needed for their healing process – Peace, Patience, Persistence and Vision. Then the land was divided into 100 x 50 square foot plots and a temporary tent was provided for each family. From 2007-2009, the people waited and while they waited they prayed and began to take action. They got the soil ready to plant and developed a self-elected democracy, a social contract, eight different churches and a school.

In 2009, the first homes were started. The homes were distributed based on a lottery system. Every family drew a number and that determined the order that the houses would be built. While we were there at the IDP camp, we found out that 85 homes had been built in Peace village, 85 homes had been built in Patience village and we finished the final three homes in Persistence Village. They will now be starting to build Vision village.

One of the special people we met during out HFH experience was Tabitha. Tabitha is 55 years old and lost her husband and four of her five children during the post-election violence. You can hear more about her story here:

Tabitha drew #8 and in 2009 her home was built. Since then she has been present at every build – 240 homes. She helps in any way she can and this was the same for us. She was what we called the "child-wrangler," making sure the children of the villages left us to do our work. She also was the one who watched our things and made sure she gave us lots of love throughout each day. She also organized all the deliveries and made sure everything went smoothly.

Each of the houses are composed of three rooms. One is often used as a kitchen, one as a bedroom and one as a sitting room. Depending on how many children you have, I'm sure the sitting room would be used to sleep in as well. In every home we saw that they used the tents they had previously lived in to cover the walls in their new home. They are truly thankful for everything that has been provided for them.

The gardens in Maai Mahiu are pretty stunning. They grow many things such as: corn (maise), sweet potatoes, onions, chives, hot chili peppers, castor oil, beans, spinach, kale, millet and barley.On our last day at Maai Mahiu we met a group of ladies who had started a business called Bead Attitudes. They make jewelry by using recycled paper. These women were so happy to welcome us into their home and show us their beautiful creations. I think we pretty much cleaned out their supply!

One of the things that was demonstrated each day we spent in the IDP camp was the strength and persistence of this community which was truly inspiring.