THE COVERT FILE/ Winnie's Kenya...A Teenager's Survival Story

Winnie Njeri

I love the idyllic scenes from Kenya, the Maasai warriors and all sorts of such things from this part of the world.
 
Apart from the magnificent scenery, I can tell you, there’s another side. It’s not pretty.

In fact, life in Kenya can break your heart. For the past two decades plus, I’ve worked in international relief projects through Harry Covert Ministries and World Emergency Relief of the United Kingdom and Holland. With the assistance of many people, we’ve provided thousands of dollars and pounds in aid for years also to Kenya, The Congo (formerly Zaire) The Gambia, Senegal, Sudan, Burundi and numerous other countries.

Our efforts have been working daily with orphanages, relief organizations and church groups. It’s never ending work providing food, medicines and educational supplies. No end is in sight, either. (To be transparent, I am a trustee of World Emergency Relief and president of Harry Covert Ministries).

Here’s the other side of why our humanitarian efforts are important in Kenya and throughout this part of the world. I want to show this story by Winnie Njeri. Alex Haxton, chief executive office of World Emergency Relief-UK based in London, recently met Winnie in Kenya.

Winnie Njeri is 13 years old and comes from Rift Valley province in Kenya. In 2007, after disputed elections, violence erupted across the country leading to an estimated 1,000 deaths and 260,000 people uprooted. This is Winnie’s story in her own words of how her mother was murdered and of her search for safety.

WINNIE’S STORY …

“They cut my mother to pieces because of an election but she was not interested in politics. I don’t know what they thought she had done.”
“My name is Winnie and until two years ago I had a very good life. I was lucky to be born to a good family. My parents worked hard and were wealthy. I went to the best school in the village, I ate the best food and I had never in my life been hungry. At that time I thought that my life was normal and that it would always be this way.

“Everything changed in December 2007. My family was chased from our home during a riot. I did not understand why this was happening but I knew we were in danger. My mother was not very well so she fell behind us for a moment. It was for such a short time that I ran on ahead but it was still long enough for her to die.

“I turned and saw that she had been knocked down by a group of men. I stopped and watched them kill her. They cut my mother to pieces because of an election but she was not interested in politics. I don’t know what they thought she had done.

“My father, grandmother and I ran to a nearby church for safety but even there we were afraid, for we had heard stories of people burned alive in church.

“That night a group of us that had hidden in the church crept out and walked to a nearby town. It was empty and silent. Nobody was out for fear of being killed. We walked on with no idea where to go. For the first time in my life I was really hungry and thirsty from running but there was nothing to be had. For many days we travelled at night, hiding in the day as best we could.

“My father became weak and he died on the road. I left him lying there alone.

“One night as we were walking a lorry pulled up. The driver told us that, hearing of the violence, he had come to collect his relatives. He told us to jump in the back and that he would take us to safety. We were all afraid, unsure if he could be trusted but it was the only thing to do

“That man, whose name I never knew, saved us all. He took us to South Kinangop where there was a camp for people who had fled from the danger. It was a safe place and the other people there were kind but it was not like my home. There was just one small meal a day and there was never enough water. I slept in a ragged tent with my grandmother and I missed my home, my bed, my clothes but most of all my parents.

“A few weeks later we were visited by Sister Lucy from a nearby orphanage. She came to talk about peace and forgiveness but she also took some of the children to stay with her. I was lucky enough to be one of them and now I live in the Hope Community Centre. We have food and new clothes and we got to school. It is not as nice as my old home but still I know how lucky I am.

“I have made friends now and I have learned to forgive the people that killed my parents because this is the only way there will be peace. I am studying hard and I would love to be a lawyer when I am older so that I can fight for the rights of the weak in my country. I want to thank the people in other countries who give so that I and others like me can live.”

HOW TO HELP?

World Emergency Relief has been funding the Hope Community Centre since 2002 and recently participated in a food distribution for the people in South Kinangop. If you’d like to help these projects, send a check to Harry Covert Ministries, Post Office Box 8001, Alexandria, VA 22306.