17.02.10
The Danish Refugee Council is now to construct houses in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya as part of the Restoration of Farm Infrastructure and Rural Livelihoods Project for the Internally Displaced Persons.
Men, women and children who were displaced during the violence that rocked Kenya after the disputed December 2007 general elections, danced and sang with joy in the sleepy Kamuyu village in Kenya’s Uasin Gishu District on Wednesday 10 February during the launch of the Restoration of Farm Infrastructure and Rural Livelihoods Project for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Rift Valley Province. The Rift Valley Province was the epicenter of the 2007 election violence.
The three-year project is targeted at the displaced farm households from Uasin Gishu and Molo districts and other vulnerable groups from non-displaced communities. As one of the implementing agencies, The Danish Refugee Council has been allocated, in the first phase of the project, to construct 1,604 housing units in Molo District.
“DRC is committed to fast-tracking the construction of the housing units allocated to DRC so that the affected families can have shelter as soon as possible,” says Peter Klansø.
The African Development Bank extended a loan to the Government of Kenya to finance the restoration of farm infrastructure and improving rural livelihoods. The principle objective of the project is to restore agricultural productions and livelihoods for 19,000 farm households displaced by the 2007 post election violence in Molo and Uasin Gishu districts of Rift Valley Province. The project will also have other components including provision of basic agricultural inputs and reconciliation and peace building component.
DRC has been present in the region, particularly in the Molo District since 2008 and is quite familiar to the area residents. The construction of houses is just one of many interventions that DRC is being involved in under its Kenyan programme. The organization has been on the forefront in the provision of humanitarian aid to those severely affected by the post election violence in 2008. In Molo, for example, DRC has played a major role in provision of shelter and other non-food items to the IDPs. DRC has also delivered protection and livelihood support programmes for the displaced people. DRC remains the only INGO supporting the Kenyan government in their drafting of national IDP policy.
“We appreciate the support and cooperation we have received from the locals and the various government departments during our humanitarian operations in the Kenya,” says Peter Klansø.
Background
More than 1,200 people were killed, and at least 350,000 others were displaced internally during the disputed presidential elections in the country in 2007. The bulk of the displaced people were those in the Rift Valley Province. Although most have since been resettled, a huge number of them still live in transit camps spread out across the region. The project launched by the Minister is one of the many approaches used by the government to resettle the IDPs and will cost 1,978 million shillings.