Kenya (MNN) — The United Nation's chief is trying to bring an end to the bloody violence plaguing Kenya over disputed elections. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged negotiators for the two sides to work toward ending the political stalemate.
President Mwai Kibaki is attending an African Union summit in Ethiopia. Opposition Leader Raila Odinga is calling for a new election. Their dispute over the validity of the December 27th election has degenerated into tribal warfare between the Luo and the Kikuyu tribes.
Some aid agencies estimate the number of people affected by the violence could be as high as 300,000, but whatever the actual number, the cost has been too high for the nearly 800 who lost their lives in the fighting.
The picture of chaos caused Ban to warn the leaders that Kenya's violence has done serious damage to the country's economy and its image. It will take years to recover economically from the month-long eruption.
Insecurity has hampered many ministry projects in the region, too. Living Water International is no exception. LWI's John Nadolski says where their teams would normally drive the drill rigs to a project site, "they're being turned around. So until that is resolved, we're shut down, and we're not allowed to continue with the ministry of providing water to the people of Kenya. Kenya is the pipeline for the countries in East Africa. Our teams in Rwanda couldn't find drilling parts, and so they were shut down because they couldn't get new supplies coming across the border."
Last year at this time, LWI invited President Kibaki to a drill site to officially commission a water borehole at Kiu shopping centre, Kibwezi District. The project is set to benefit over 5,000 people in the area who currently do not have an adequate source of clean water. Kibaki thanked Living Water International, a Christian non-profit organization, which sponsored the drilling of the Kiu borehole, and other development partners for supporting the government's efforts to provide the clean water.
Today, Nadolski says their greatest testimony is coming through prayer. "When the people of Kenya are down on their knees asking for people to pray, they are seeing and expecting God to respond. Our teams can minister to that and respond as a Christian brother. The people who I'm talking to haven't given up hope."
