Nairobi. Forum on ReEvolution of Works of Mercy Ended, Refugees Also Discussed
Hundreds of religious men and women also spoke about the plight of the Diocese of Lodwar, where Kenya’s second-largest refugee camp is located
“My diocese is essentially an area of first evangelization that moreover takes in more than 250,000 refugees from neighboring countries, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia,” John Mbinda, Bishop of Lodwar, whose diocese is located in northwestern Kenya, in Turkana County, on the border with South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda, says in an interview with Fides Agency.
The large Kakuma refugee camp, is located 120 km from Lodwar, the provincial capital. It was established in 1992 to receive Sudanese refugees fleeing civil war (South Sudan did not yet exist at that time) and then people of other nationalities from 19 countries in crisis (most South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and others).
It is the second largest refugee camp located in Kenya. In 2016, a smaller reception settlement was established in Turkana County, Kalobeyei, which is located about 20 km from Kakuma.
The reception facilities are run by a number of nongovernmental organizations headed by the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) together with the Kenyan government.
But the local Church is part of this reception process as Msgr. Mbinda points out, “As a Church we assist these people primarily by providing facilities for worship activities, allowing the Catholic faithful to deepen their faith,” says Msgr. Mbinda. “We also have evangelization activities for those who wish to do so.” “And of course we try to meet the social needs of refugees and asylum seekers by providing education, medical care, clean water, sanitation, psychological support, and sometimes we even provide meals for those who need them.”
“There are about 20,000 Catholics in the refugee camps,” adds the Bishop of Lodwar. “The local population is about 1.3 million, adding the refugees according to the latest census are 1.5 million.”
Bishop Mbinda concludes by stressing that “we have a good relationship with people of other faiths, including Muslims, with whom we work in the spirit of interreligious dialogue, in improving together the living conditions of the local population and refugees.”
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- Photo by spazio + spadoni
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