Today, Feb 1, FAF received this message from Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya, an NGO that FAF helps support. It is sent in response to my Jan. 31 e-mail asking how we can help.

Dear Laura,

Thank you for being with us. Things have been difficult for us in Kenya and for us in WOFAK. Many of our staff members were not able to resume work i time, we are ever in a situation of deep anxiety and uncertainty, many of our clients have been displaced from their homes, many cannot access treatment services such as drug replenishments and scheduled hospital appointments. A number of women have been raped, including five of our members within the internally displaced camps.

Hunger and malnutrition has set in among a substantial number of our clients, especially those who are on treatment. However, Laura, we made several appeals to many of our partners and about 3 partners have responded with donations in cash to help support the displaced and those severely affected. From next week, we shall be distributing relief food to our clients, we shall be giving them sanitary towels, blankets and multivitamintablets. We are seeking help to provide relief to 500 women, displaced or adversely affected by these post-election crisis from our centres in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Busia, Nairobe and Mombasa.

We are quite humbled by the passionate responses, solidarity and humane with which our partners and the entire international community have shown to WOFAK and Kenya. We are sure that FAF will do its bit, at a time that will be convenient to them, to enable us to provide more relief. We are not sure of the next day, things are calm today, but tomorrow, new waves of violence erupts, pitting communities against each other and rendering many people homeless.

We wish you a prosperous new year and look forward to continued collaboration.

Sincerly, Charles Kaduwa

Program Officer, WOFAK