A month after  signing an agreement with the government, IOM
has completed over half of  1,784 shelters for internally
displaced people (IDPs) returning to Burnt Forest, a town in the
Uasin Gishu district of the Rift Valley.

The shelters are part of a USD 1.89 million IOM shelter
construction project funded by the African Development Bank through
Kenya's Ministry of State for Special Programmes to build 5,184
shelters in five Rift Valley locations.

The shelters, which are scheduled for completion by June 2010,
will be built in Rugiri, Lorian, Kamuyu, Rokoine and the greater
Burnt Forest area.

The area experienced massive displacement and loss of property
following recurrent election violence that began in May 2008.
Thousands of families subsequently fled to IDP transit camps.

Construction of the three-roomed shelters, which are made with
timber frames, corrugated iron (CGI) sheet roofing and mud walls,
began in January.

Building on a previous design, the new shelters now include
fascia boards, which prevent rain water from hitting the walls and
also provide support for gutters, which channel rainwater into 500
liter drinking water tanks. 

 

The shelter construction project also includes a peace-building
component, encouraging community dialogue and sports for young
returnees. This will be implemented by IOM Kenya's peace and
conflict prevention team, which includes 20 peace animators and 800
volunteers recruited as part of an earlier program funded by
Japan. 

 

For more information, please contact:

Jerotich Seii Houlding

IOM Nairobi

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

or

Robert Odhiambo

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