Registering at the Dadaab relief camp

A $100,000 grant from the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation will help Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) provide increased support to people in the largest refugee camp in the world.

Dadaab, in south-eastern Kenya, hosts 465,000 refugees, the majority Somalis fleeing violence and a famine that has claimed the lives of thousands of people over recent months.

The funds will support the camp’s communication services to help new arrivals learn about essential issues like malnutrition and basic services; provide psychological support to the most vulnerable; and set up temporary learning and recreational centres for children. These projects will operate through CLWR’s partnership with Lutheran World Federation’s Department of World Service Kenya which manages the Dadaab camp on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“Many of Dadaab’s refugees have endured a long journey with little food or water and threats of violence. This has taken a huge toll on the physical and mental health of new arrivals, especially women and children,” reports Robert Granke, CLWR executive director. “The services Canadian Lutheran World Relief is supporting will help alleviate this suffering.” 

CLWR is taking the lead in this initiative on behalf of Canadian Churches in Action, a coalition of 10 church-based organizations involved in development and relief activities around the world.

“We thank God for the trust both the Manitoba government and the United Nations have shown in the work of these Lutheran agencies,” said Dr. Leonardo Neitzel, Lutheran Church–Canada’s executive for social ministry. “Let us pray that as these refugees receive assistance and support they will see the love of Christ that motivates this concern.”

For more than 60 years Canadian Lutheran World Relief has undertaken international development projects, refugee resettlement work, and provided emergency assistance around the world on behalf of Lutheran Church–Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and their predecessors.