A New Road Ahead!

Returning to work. Tea harvesters picking one of Kenya's biggest exports in the vibrant green hills of Limuru.

A power sharing deal was struck this past Thursday between President Kibaki and Mr. Odinga bringing renewed hope to a weary nation. The past two months of violence and instability have had a crippling effect on Kenya's economy: Tourism, the countries most important foreign revenue earner (bringing in over a billion US dollars last year), has fallen to less than 10% of its previous levels; and the tea, coffee, and vegatable industries have also been hard hit by the internal refugee crisis which had dispersed many of the labourers (leaving crops rotting in their feilds) and increased transportation costs. Kenya's huge export flower industry has been one of the best at weathering the storm, but it too has struggled. Tens of thousands of Kenyans have lost their jobs in each of these industries, and people of all regions have been hit by rapid inflation. Basic stables like sugar, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and other produced have jumped in price even doubling. Transportation costs have soared. And most Kenyans do not have the means to absorb the spike. People are holding on to hope for a lasting peace that will bring the country back to "normal".

Please continue to pray for Kenya as it begins the long and difficult road of rebuilding.


* For the nations political leaders as they return to parliament this Thursday to vote on the National Accord and Reconciliation Act that is necessary to instate the changes for power sharing (including the appointment of Mr. Odinga as a prime minister and the selection of a new cabinet).
* Pray for Kenya as it attempts to address regional economic disparities that lie behind much of the ethnic division which exploded into Kenya's post election violence.
* Pray for unity among the Kenya Churches as they work together to meet the needs of their neighbours in the love and compassion of Christ.