The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) General Secretary Canon Peter Karanja, has affirmed the Council’s commitment to supporting refugee work in the Country.
Canon Karanja said that the Council considered the engagement a Christian calling and would seriously continue playing her role aimed at enhancing the living conditions of refugees in the country.
He spoke in Kakuma town, during a courtesy call to Turkana County Assistant Commissioner Samuel Osodo. “We are very pleased that you made time for us. NCCK takes refugee work seriously because its couched in scriptures. We therefore support this work as a sound Christian principle,” said Canon Karanja, who also expressed his disappointment at the ongoing political crisis in the neighboring South Sudan. “We are of course sad about what is happening in South Sudan. That is a statement about human evil. We hope the crisis can be resolved soon to allow South Sudanese living in camps to go back home. We also appreciate the openness in your office and recognize that you have a critical role in securing the country,” he said.
The sentiments were echoed by Osodo, who termed as ‘cordial’, the government’s relationship with various agencies in refugee work in Kakuma camp. Osodo said: “I am very happy to meet you at a personal level. We have worked closely with NCCK all these years and we are very grateful. We will give NCCK all the support that it deserves”.
Earlier, Canon Karanja who was accompanied by NCCK’s Senior Programmes Officer Grace Muthungu, Camp Coordinator Raphael Nyabala, Internal Auditor Gilbert Wanjohi and a host of NCCK senior staff , held discussions with the Department of Refugee Affairs Camp Manager Bernard ole Kipury.
During the meeting, the Kipury and his guest extensively discussed the Council’s work in Kakuma Refugee Camp. He said that the Council would be pleased to plug in, once Kipury’s team will have finished mapping out their strategy on how to expand the camp.
NCCK is one of the implementing partners of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) programmes in Kakuma camp.
