International Christian delegation in troubled Kenya on solidarity visit

|PIC1|An international ecumenical delegation will visit Kenya on Wednesday to show solidarity with the country's churches that are struggling to work for peace amid post-electoral violence and widespread killings.

The visiting team is being sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to find out how the international fellowship of churches can best support Kenyan churches and their peace and reconciliation efforts.

The "Living Letters" visit, from January 30 to February 3, is part of the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010) and is being hosted by the National Council of Churches in Kenya.

Delegates include Mr Graham Gerald McGeoch, ministerial candidate of the Church of Scotland and UK member of the WCC central and executive committees.

WCC General Secretary the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, who is a Kenyan, said the violence and destruction in his homeland "portray a country that one would hardly recognise as Kenya".

Kobia expressed hope that Kenya "will overcome the prevailing situation and that the churches will play an important part in speeding up that time". He also hoped the visit would reassure Kenyan churches "that we feel part of the same family, and when and where any part of the family hurts, we hurt with them".

The visit will include meetings with Kenyan religious leaders - Christian and of other faiths, government officials and opposition leaders, churches, local communities and civil society organisations in Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru and Kakamega.

Violence erupted after the December 27 presidential election when opposition leader Raila Odinga accused incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of rigging the poll to secure his re-election. The two candidates' political strife overflowed to divide ordinary citizens who are divided by tribal lines.

Kibaki is from Kenya's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, while Odinga belongs to the smaller but still large Luo tribe.

"There is only one Kenya. We all have multiple identifies, but I hope you all see yourself as Kenyans first," former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said Tuesday, addressing the country's tribal tension, according to CNN. "[We] must stress our common humanity and uphold respect for human rights and the dignity of others."

On Tuesday, Annan met with Kenya's government and held talks with Kibaki and Odinga. Before the meeting, he pleaded with the Kenyan Government to protect civilians after another uproar took place following the murder of opposition lawmaker Mugabe Were outside his home on Tuesday.

More than 700 people have been killed and some 250,000 people displaced due to violence since the election. Twenty-two people died on Tuesday after fresh clashes erupted in the wake of Were's death, according to Agence France-Presse.

Annan hopes to resolve the political issue within four weeks and gave Kenya one year to restore damages that occurred over the past one month, according to AFP.

Meanwhile, Christian agencies such as World Vision, Christian Reformed Church Relief Committee, Compassion International and the Southern Baptist International Mission Board continue to provide food and shelter to displaced families.

The groups have fed and sheltered tens of thousands of people in Kenya who would otherwise have no food or roof over their heads. Many Christian agencies have vowed to stay for as long as they are needed.