18 Jan 2008
AMREF’s activities at Jamhuri Park are well underway. This is in spite of some minor delays from suppliers, especially in the delivery of construction materials and water tanks, due to the ongoing clashes in Nairobi. AMREF is appointed the lead agency for water and sanitation activities at the camp, and has established a strong working relationship with key players including the Red Cross and the International Rescue Committee.
Over the last couple of days there have been renewed protests with more people seeking refuge in the Jamhuri Internally Displaced Persons Camp (IDP) in Nairobi. Those spending the night at the Camp have increased from a previous 1,100 to 3,133 consisting of various nationalities. These are: 2,893 Kenyans; 226 Ethiopians; 12 Congolese; and 2 Somalis. Daytime numbers are now up to nearly 7,000 IDPs.
So far, AMREF has delivered water tanks with a capacity of 25,000 litres. These have now been connected to the main water system and are fully functional. In addition, AMREF will be delivering a further 200 (20litre) containers to families along with 50,000 aqua tabs to ensure that all water is treated.
To ensure access to proper sanitation facilities, AMREF has already dug 12 pit latrines with support from the Nairobi Water Company. The latrines will be ready for use by Sunday. Toilet disinfectants have also been ordered and plans for the cleaning and maintenance of these facilities have been made for the next three months. Also, 8 bath shelters/ showers will be complete by 20th January.
Due to the increased number of residents in the camp, and to avoid disease outbreaks, 100 more toilets are needed. Currently, to control diseases outbreaks, such as malaria, cholera and dysentery, among others, AMREF, in partnership with Ministry of Health, is regularly spraying the grounds and sleeping places with a multiple effect chemical that acts as a microbicide and insecticide . Coupled with personal hygiene and sanitation training going at the camp, the spraying helps to protect the health of the people living under the difficult and challenging conditions at Jamhuri Park Camp
Out of the frying pan into the fire - Personal Account In a large, dim hall at Nairobi’s Jamhuri Park, Teresiah Muthoni cradles her six-month-old baby, who seems oblivious to his strange surroundings as he sucks on his mother’s breast. Teresiah, 26, and her four children fled their homes in the Kibera slum to escape the violence that followed the general election in Kenya last month, and sought refuge at the Jamhuri Park, which has now been turned into a camp for internally displaced people. Around them are hundreds of other families just like theirs. There has been a lot of rain in the last few days. A foul smell hangs in the air. Though there are closet-type toilets near the arena, most people in the camp do not know how to use them, preferring instead to use the open fields around the arena. “Those toilets are very dirty. We would rather find some place in the compound to relieve ourselves,” says Teresiah. To make matters worse, there are only 10 showers at the park which all the refugees have to share. Concerned about the high risk of an outbreak of diarrhoeal and other sanitation-related diseases, AMREF has moved into the park to construct pit latrines and bathrooms, and to manage solid waste disposal. Kibera PHASE Officer George Kimathi, who is coordinating AMREF’s operations at the park, says: “There is currently only one toilet for every 100 people, against a recommended ratio of one to 20 people. We need to move quickly to avert a looming crisis.” AMREF is working with volunteers from the community of displaced persons to dig the latrines and to educate the refugees on hygiene and sanitation. AMREF has also installed water reservoirs with a capacity of 25,000 litres to give the refugees easy access to safe water.
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