**** PRESS RELEASE *****
TUESDAY, JANUARY 8TH, 2008
RUNNYMEDE YOUTH CALL ON CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO SEND EMERGENCY AND DIPLOMATIC AID TO KENYA
The youth of Runnymede United Church formally request that the Canadian government act as a role model by sending emergency aid to the estimated 250,000 internally displaced citizens / refugees in Kenya, as well as providing international diplomatic support to assure a democratic and peaceful resolution to the current political crisis.
For our youth group, this current crisis is not just another headline, but a case of the survival of our friends in Kenya. In July 2007, we had the privilege of working alongside Kenyan youth in the Huruma neighborhood in Nairobi and we helped to construct a classroom for a school northwest of Kisumu. Our Kenyan friends have been actively working in impoverished neighborhoods affected by HIV/AIDS doing awareness campaigns, cultural heritage presentations, civic education, and community clean-ups.
Our group has been watching the crisis unfold on a Kenyan news channel on YouTube (www.youtube.com/ntvkenya ) where we have seen the Huruma neighborhood engulfed in flames with residents fleeing for their lives. Over the last week, we have been anxiously waiting for news from our friends. Today, we received a communication and our friends are alive, but they have urged us to ask our government to send humanitarian assistance and diplomatic aid to Kenya.
We are deeply disturbed to see the streets we walked down engulfed in flames and it brings in a personal reason for our investment in helping the people of Kenya. The situation is dire, without international intervention the country could collapse into a state of civil war. Canada is a wealthy country with a rising influence on the global stage – Canada has the ability and the responsibility to intervene. We call on the Canadian government to join or lead an international aid effort and to be proactive in its efforts to ensure Kenyans have access to fair and democratic election processes in the months and years ahead.
Runnymede Youth Group, Runnymede United Church
RUNNYMEDE YOUTH CALL ON CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO SEND EMERGENCY AND DIPLOMATIC AID TO KENYA
The youth of Runnymede United Church formally request that the Canadian government act as a role model by sending emergency aid to the estimated 250,000 internally displaced citizens / refugees in Kenya, as well as providing international diplomatic support to assure a democratic and peaceful resolution to the current political crisis.
For our youth group, this current crisis is not just another headline, but a case of the survival of our friends in Kenya. In July 2007, we had the privilege of working alongside Kenyan youth in the Huruma neighborhood in Nairobi and we helped to construct a classroom for a school northwest of Kisumu. Our Kenyan friends have been actively working in impoverished neighborhoods affected by HIV/AIDS doing awareness campaigns, cultural heritage presentations, civic education, and community clean-ups.
Our group has been watching the crisis unfold on a Kenyan news channel on YouTube (www.youtube.com/ntvkenya ) where we have seen the Huruma neighborhood engulfed in flames with residents fleeing for their lives. Over the last week, we have been anxiously waiting for news from our friends. Today, we received a communication and our friends are alive, but they have urged us to ask our government to send humanitarian assistance and diplomatic aid to Kenya.
We are deeply disturbed to see the streets we walked down engulfed in flames and it brings in a personal reason for our investment in helping the people of Kenya. The situation is dire, without international intervention the country could collapse into a state of civil war. Canada is a wealthy country with a rising influence on the global stage – Canada has the ability and the responsibility to intervene. We call on the Canadian government to join or lead an international aid effort and to be proactive in its efforts to ensure Kenyans have access to fair and democratic election processes in the months and years ahead.
Runnymede Youth Group, Runnymede United Church
1 comment:
Well written article.
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