Nearly 4,000 people who have fled violence in Kenya are being cared for across the border by the Red Cross.

The British Red Cross is appealing to the public to support all people who have been affected by the outbreak of violence in Kenya, including those displaced in neighbouring countries like Uganda.

The refugees have taken shelter in schools, which are closed for the holidays in a number of locations in eastern Uganda.
 
"People are shocked and stunned by what has happened to them," said Lawrence Lutaaya from the Uganda Red Cross. "They've had to flee with nothing. I spoke to one trader who was burnt out of his property. He had to flee and crossed the border with his children. There's complete uncertainty about when they can go back."

Relief distributions

Lawrence visited Malaba today (9 January), which is the site of a teacher-training institute. A total of 3,704 people have been registered by the Uganda Red Cross, with the majority in Malaba, Busia and Bukwa. The refugee camps are being managed by the Uganda Red Cross, which has distributed blankets, sleeping bags, soap and mosquito nets among other relief items.

He said: "It is a miserable sight – people are just sitting silently in groups in the shade under trees out of the hot sun. Our volunteers are playing football with the children – they don't realise the situation as much as their parents."

He described how some people were given first aid when they arrived over the border. A child was born in the Malaba camp, but the mother had complications and the baby is now in intensive care in Uganda.

Basic conditions for Kenyan refugees

Lawrence added: "Conditions at the Malaba camp are very basic. At night people are lying on floors with a sleeping bag or blanket. The government is preparing boreholes to provide additional water."

Andrew Omale, Uganda Red Cross operations manager, who has been working with the refugees, said: "The influx of refugees took us unawares as it happened so quickly but we had stock that we were able to distribute immediately."

Andrew has years of experience working with refugees and displaced people, most recently as a result of internal conflict between Ugandan armed forces and the Lord's Resistance Army. He described how people are sympathetic with the refugees' plight and have been welcoming: "In Busia the local community held an appeal to provide food to the refugees, collecting maize, beans and grain."

Tracing missing relatives

Andrew said: "I saw an 11-year-old girl yesterday in Lwakaka who said she saw her mother, father and sister killed. She thinks her brothers have also been killed and she is now all alone. She is now being cared for by another family. But we have heard lots of stories of orphans and in many cases women whose husbands have been killed. Many people don't know where their relatives are."
 
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working with the Uganda Red Cross to trace missing people and reunite families.

Read the Kenya Crisis Appeal information sheet