Gloom for Kenya refugees as heavy rains start
Internally displaced families on Friday started experiencing what could be the most trying time of their lives in camps as the much-anticipated rains pounded Nakuru and its environs. The heavy rains, linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, fell in the town for the second day running. In recent months, the town has been experiencing a dry, windy and dusty spell except for a few cases in July when it received some rains. On Friday, an overcast morning gave in to a rainy afternoon, keeping residents and business people under shelters. But for IDPs in the Pipeline camp on the outskirts of the town, the situation was gloomy. Some of the tents were already flooded with Thursday’s downpour. “My family spent the rainy night standing, with our legs half-submerged in water. We have no beds and cannot sleep in the pool of water that forms in our tent every time it rains,” said Ms Grace Wairimu. She said two of her children, aged 10 and 12 years, have been diagnosed with malaria, while the third one, aged eight years, is suffering from pneumonia, which would have been avoided if she was living in a better place. Some people in the camp, Ms Wairimu said, were forced to use their blanket to seal their leaking roofs, but the water poured in. “The blanket absorb water and become saturated, they too start leaking, it is so bad here but despair is forcing us to persevere,” said Ms Wairimu. …
