Preparing for Kakuma

Today is my next to last day to prepare for a trip to Kenya.  I will leave on Tuesday morning on a journey from Seattle to Dallas to London to Nairobi to Lodwar and then by car to Kakuma, a place in northwest Kenya where one of the world's largest refugee camps is located.  It will be just over two full days of travel from start to finish, including one night in the Nairobi airport hopefully finding a comfortable place to sleep for a few hours before a final early morning flight.

Currently there are nearly 50,000 refugees from South Sudan's conflict in the camp, in addition to over 100,000 others from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.  It's a big place.

I have been to Kakuma once before, in 2008, where I spent three days with my good friend, Martin Masumbuko.  Martin had worked there from 1992-2001.  When he returned with me seven years later, there were hardly any Sudanese remaining in the camp.  They had either gone home to South Sudan following the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the North, or they had moved to the US, as several thousand of the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan had done in 2001.  He had helped to arrange that.

Now, many of them are back.  Since the outbreak of violence in the world's newest nation on December 15, 2013, South Sudanese have streamed across the border for safety. 

In January this year, Bishop Abraham Yel Nhial, the South Sudanese former Lost Boy and now bishop of the Diocese of Aweil, made a pastoral visit to Kakuma, a place he had lived as a refugee himself.  He saw the need for training for the pastors who are in the camp to help their people develop a culture of peace and reconciliation in their divided country.  He put out a call for help.

I wrote to Bishop Abraham, telling him of my limited experience in the camp, and that I also had made a trip to South Sudan the same year.  He knew also of my studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, much of my time there being focused on Sudan's civil war.  He invited me to come to Kakuma and lead a conference with South Sudanese church leaders.   After a lot of prayer and consultation here, I told him I would, with the help of God, come to Kakuma to help.

That's what I'll be up to this coming week.  From May 15-21 we'll be holding daily sessions, looking at issues of conflict, forgiveness, reconciliation, the healing of trauma, and how to be peace makers and peace builders -- all through the lens of holy scripture and our commitment to the Christian life.  I have also arranged for my dear friend, Fr. Philbert Kalisa, to join us and to share the work of REACH Rwanda in the healing of his own country.  We will have participants from several of South Sudan's tribal groups, including the two at the heart of the current conflict.

Please pray for the people of South Sudan and for the participants in our peace and reconciliation conference.  I'll try to post here in this blog from time to time, depending on internet access in the camp.

And finally, I'd like to thank the following for their support of this endeavor:
The people of Trinity Parish, Seattle, WA
The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel, Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia
The Rev. Mark Tusken, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Geneva, IL