IOM will construct over 5,100 shelters for displaced people
returning home after post-election violence nearly two years ago in
Kenya’s Rift Valley Province.

The first 1,784 shelters will be built over the next six weeks
in the Wareng district following the signing of an agreement
between IOM and the Kenya government which received USD 20 million
from the African Development Bank to help address ongoing housing
needs of 19,000 households displaced by the violence.More than
300,000 people were displaced following the 2008 post-election
violence and more than 1,500 people lost their lives.  The
most affected areas in terms of displacement are in the Rift Valley
Province and although most families have moved back to their homes,
the conditions of return remain unfavourable without adequate
access to shelter and livelihoods opportunities. All IDP camps have
officially been closed although several thousand people still
assert that they have nowhere to return to and require additional
Government assisstance.

Another 3,400 shelters will be built in another two rounds of
construction in Wareng District by June 2010.  This programme
will further focus on conflict prevention and peace building at
community level in order to consolidate efforts to prevent future
violence and to promote ethnic and political tolerance in long
standing "hot spots" in the Rift Valley.

IOM has worked closely with the Ministry of State for Special
Programmes since the violence erupted in late 2007 and early
January 2008 to support the early recovery of affected communities
and those internally displaced. Particular focus has been on
stabilizing communities through reestablishing the livelihoods of
those worst affected by the violence and in shelter
reconstruction.

With funding from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund
(CERF), IOM has already constructed 700 low-cost houses in Molo,
Uasin Gishu and Lugari Districts of the Rift Valley Province in
2008. This year, funding from the Japanese government has led to
the construction of another 8,250 shelters in six districts, the
provision of livelihood support for more than 10,000 families and
efforts to support peace and reconciliation.

For more information, please contact:

Jerotich Seii-Houlding

IOM Nairobi

E-mail: "mailto:jseiihoulding@iom.int">jseiihoulding@iom.int 

Tel: +254 20 4444174