As Floods Surge and War Clouds Gather, Mercy Corps Heads to Kenya-Somalia Border
Source: Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps
Website: http://www.mercycorps.org
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December 8, 2006
Contacts: Jeremy Barnicle 1-503-367-7738
Cassandra Nelson, + 92-300-855-5646
*Agency to provide shelter, water supplies in flooded, refugee-filled border town*
NAIROBI, Kenya - Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian agency, is moving quickly to provide shelter and water supplies to thousands of Kenyans affected by massive regional flooding, following an assessment by the agency's Global Emergency Operations team this week.
The assessment found that the flooding had caused immediate and unmet humanitarian needs in the border town of Liboi, where the local population has ballooned because of Somali refugees fleeing instability and economic hardship on the other side of the border.
According to Reuters, approximately one million people throughout the region have been displaced by the flooding, which is said to be the worst in decades.
"The combination of poor housing quality and flood damage has left this town in dire straits," said Richard Jacquot, Mercy Corps' emergency response manager, calling in from the border region. "Regardless of what happens with the weather, we can be sure people will need a roof over their heads and clean water to drink - and that's how we plan to help."
The flood response is complicated by the prospect of a regional war centered on Somalia, where the Union of Islamic Courts and the Transitional Federal Government are fighting for control of the country.
Jacquot said Mercy Corps chose to respond to needs in Liboi not only to serve the town's immediate flood-related needs, but also because it would be a key processing point for thousands of incoming Somali refugees should war break out.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that as many as 250,000 Somalis could cross the border into Kenya if hostilities erupt and weather permits movement.
Striving to serve the needs of the population in Liboi also positions Mercy Corps to support its economic development programs on the other side of the border in Somalia.
"Even if a broader war does not break out, people in southern Somalia are facing intense economic hardship, and we plan to help them build up their livelihoods so they have the option of remaining in their home communities," Jacquot said.
The agency's initial response, funded by Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), will target approximately 10,000 people in Liboi.
Mercy Corps has worked in East Africa since 1985 and its current regional operation includes programs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda.
Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1 billion in assistance to people in 82 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,000 staff worldwide and reach more than 10 million people in more than 35 countries. Over the last five years, more than 90 percent of the agency's resources have been allocated directly to programs that help people in need. For more information, visit
www.mercycorps.org.
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