After the election: Red Cross volunteers bring hope to Kenya
6 May 2008
Related page:
Kenya country profile
 When he put his voting slip in the ballot box for the first time in his life, a
smile broke out across Nathaniel Gatonya's face. Finally, he was carrying out
his democratic right to vote and making a real difference to his country's
future.
But the 24-year-old never dreamed of the terrible events that would engulf his
homeland of Kenya following the general election of December 2007. "If I had
known this would happen, I would never have voted," says Nathaniel from his
current place of work - a makeshift camp in a police station on the outskirts of
Nairobi.
Compelled into action
Nathaniel is one of 69,000
 Kenya
Red Cross volunteers who were compelled into action by some of the worst
violence Kenya has ever experienced. Although millions of people had queued
peacefully to cast their votes, the announcement of the results (which many
questioned) saw the country plunge into political instability and unrest.
The subsequent violence cost the lives of more than 1,000 people, and forced a
further 500,000 to leave their homes. To support the Red Cross in its
humanitarian efforts, DFID provided £2 million. This went towards such
essentials as food, shelter, clean water and emergency health care.
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Crucial assistance
 In the first
hours and days of the crisis, the work of volunteers proved
crucial. Despite being a member of the Red Cross, Nathaniel had no first hand
experience of humanitarian work or disaster management. However, as his camp
grew overnight from a few hundred people to a few thousand, he and his
colleagues learnt fast.
"We didn't know how we were going to give them all food and shelter," he admits.
"Initially we had 400 blankets for 4,000 people. We went around in the middle of
the night and just placed blankets on those who had nothing and looked most in
need."
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Feeling the pressure
 It was tough work to ensure that all the camp's inhabitants were well cared for.
As well as having to make do without food and sleep, Nathaniel came from a
different tribe to the people he was helping, which caused difficulties. "I was
once accused of planning to poison their food," he says.
"That night, I wept. People did not understand what we had done by opening up
this tribal tension." Though many would have given up under such pressure,
Nathaniel was determined to carry on. "The whole issue of making a difference
kept us all going. We knew that someone, somewhere, needed our help."
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An inspiration to others
 The hard work and perseverance of Nathaniel was rewarded
when, prior to leaving the camp, several families thanked him for his sacrifices
and apologised for causing trouble. "It made it all worthwhile," he reflects.
Although calm has returned to much of Kenya, an estimated 168,000 people
continue to live in makeshift camps run by the Red Cross. And Nathaniel is still
volunteering his time to help others, inspired by the words of Mahatma Ghandi -
"Be the change you want to see in the world." Like the thousands of Red Cross
and Red Crescent volunteers across the world, Nathaniel is a true inspiration.
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Facts and stats
- The Kenyan general election took place on 27 December 2007. This was
the country's first election since the re-introduction of multi-party
politics in 1991.
- DFID provided £2 million from the UK’s aid programme to the Red
Cross to help relieve the most urgent humanitarian needs of people
affected by the post-election violence.
- The international community continues to monitor closely the Kenyan
Government’s commitment to implementing the current political
settlement and addressing the underlying causes of the conflict. These
causes include inequality, unemployment and constitutional and land
reform.
- DFID remains committed to supporting recovery efforts in Kenya
within a medium term approach which addresses the underlying issues
behind the post-election unrest.
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