AFRICA/KENYA - The Diocese of Lodwar, where the second largest refugee camp in Kenya lies

Saturday, 31 August 2024 refugees bishops local churches

KENYA

2024-08-31
The Diocese of Lodwar, where the second largest refugee camp in Kenya lies

2024-08-15
Appointment of Military Ordinary for Kenya

2024-08-15
Appointment of the Bishop of the Diocese of Embu

2024-07-31
Bishop Gong: Young people of “Generation Z” deserve trust

2024-07-29
Bishops: “No to the petition to remove President Ruto from office; our name was included without consulting us”

2024-07-01
Bishops address young protesters: "Your hopes are our hopes"

Nairobi (Fides News Agency) – "My diocese is essentially an area for first evangelization that also houses over 250,000 refugees from neighboring countries, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia", Fides News Agency heard in an interview with John Mbinda, Bishop of Lodwar, whose diocese is located in northwest Kenya, in Turkana county, on the border with South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda.
The large Kakuma refugee camp is located 120 km from Lodwar, the provincial capital. It was created in 1992 to house Sudanese refugees fleeing the civil war (South Sudan did not yet exist at the time) and subsequently people of other nationalities from 19 countries in crisis (most of them from South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and others). It is the second largest refugee camp in Kenya. In 2016, a smaller refugee settlement, Kalobeyei, about 20 km from Kakuma, was established in Turkana County.
The reception centers are managed by a number of non-governmental organizations headed by the UNHCR (The UN High Commissioner for Refugees) along with the Kenyan government. But the local Church is part of this reception process, as Msgr. Mbinda emphasized
"As a Church we assist these people primarily by providing facilities for religious activities, allowing Catholic worshippers to deepen their faith" said Msgr. Mbinda. "We also have evangelization activities for those who want them." "And of course we try to meet the social needs of refugees and asylum seekers, providing them with education, medical care, drinking water, sanitation, psychological support and we sometimes also provide meals to the needy."
"In the refugee camps there are about 20,000 Catholics," adds the Bishop of Lodwar. "The local population is about 1.3 million, if we add the refugees according to the latest census it counts 1.5 million people."
Msgr. Mbinda concluded by stressing that "we have a good relationship with people of other faiths, including Muslims, with whom we work in the spirit of interreligious dialogue, for the improvement of the living conditions of the local population and of refugees". (L.M.) (Fides News Agency 31/8/2024)