Displaced Children

Imagine the dilema of protecting your garden and house, which has been in the family for generations, and keeping your children safe...

Many in Kenya are being forced to make that decision as election violence continues in Kenya.

Around 40 percent of the 250,000 internally displaced people are children. Their parents find a way for the children to get to safety, while they stay behind to protect their home, belongings and garden (which is what most Kenyans' livelihood is based on).

It's a normal thing here for older siblings to practically raise the younger ones. But even so, an eight-year-old travelling a hundred miles on the back of a stranger's truck with her 15-month-old sister strapped to her back will make any mother nervous.

At most of the camps, the children far outnumber the adults. At the camp I visited today, one Kenyan volunteer kept the kids busy by playing games. One of our missionary kids joined in the fun and said it was a "great day." My friend (and fellow missionary), Sandy spent the morning hold babies so their older siblings could play the games.

School starts next week in Kenya -- after a one week delay due to all of this chaos. Many of these kids will not be able to return home for months. Pray that the government can figure out a way to make sure these kids don't get behind in their studies. Pray that their minds will continue to be stimulated, instead of just sitting in the camps bored to death.