The girls' dorm that my wife and I look after is as full of energy and enthusiasm as ever. School life has kicked off, and things do feel somewhat normal, even as violence continues to flare up around the country. We met as a staff to discuss how we could best design the already-shortened school term. Our leaders worked with the local church and community to counter rumors and outside attempts to incite tribal discord in our area. Many of our staff members helped out at the camp for displaced people that sprang up in the valley below us. Soon, as it became clear that no quick solution to the political troubles was emerging, the decision was made to keep the school closed until January 19.ĭuring the delay, those of us on campus filled our time by monitoring the news, keeping our vehicles topped up when fuel was available, and making the occasional run into Nairobi when things seemed calm. The administration decided first on a 5-day delay, pushing the arrival day from January 2 to January 7. Our beloved Kenya, normally a bastion of stability on a troubled continent, was sliding into turmoil.Īs Rift Valley Academy was scheduled to begin a new term within days, the school was suddenly faced with tough questions: Do we ask families to bring their children back to school along potentially volatile travel routes? Will we be able to function as an institution of learning once they are here? We were quite confident that we could keep the kids safe once they arrived on campus, but the logistics of travel for so many families at such a time seemed too risky. Claims of rigging spread quickly, and certain disaffected elements within the population began to take advantage of the unstable situation. Throughout the early vote counting, their man had been leading, but as the later results came in, his lead had diminished and eventually disappeared. Supporters of the primary opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, felt cheated. People in our community were delighted, but reports of violence and protest in other parts of the country began to emerge within hours. Sure enough, after an agonizing three-day delay, Mwai Kibaki a Kikuyu had just been declared the winner of Kenya's presidential election. In our predominantly Kikuyu community, it was easy to guess the explanation for this kind of celebration. The noise was coming from an area just below our apartment, outside the fence that surrounds the campus of Rift Valley Academy, the mission boarding school where my wife and I serve as dorm parents. Because of its location at the end of the Rift Valley, only about 30 miles from Nairobi, concerns about security, safe travel, and supplies in Kenya's post-election turmoil caused RVA to stay closed until a couple weeks ago.Īs soon as I heard the cheers and car horns, I knew we could be in for some trouble in Kenya. There are about 450 students at the school. Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school and branch of Africa Inland Mission International, has been educating missionary kids for more than a century.
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