Saskatchewan anglican
The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • January 2014
The Baptism of Jesus Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17), ESV.
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— Zvonimir Shutterstock
Atletic/
PWRDF supports refugee camp in Kenya By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA – Imagine a city with a population about half the size of Regina, where the lucky ones live in mud-brick homes they built themselves. The rest live in tarpaulin shelters. This city is Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) is the longest-standing partner with the National Council of Churches of Kenya’s (NCCK) refugee service project. Raphael Nyabala, who is Camp co-ordinator of Kakuma Refugee Camp, spoke to a small gathering at St. James Anglican Church, Regina, about the work being done in the camp and the support provided to the camp by PWRDF. The camp was created in 1992, in response to the crisis of the Sudanese “Lost Boys.” Nyabala reported that PWRDF has been a supporter for more than the 10 years he has been involved with the camp, and longer than other agencies, including the United Nations and the World Food Program. Kakuma houses an ever-
Raphael Nyabala spoke in Regina as part of his cross-country tour of Canada, talking about the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, which is a program partner with PWRDF. Photo — Joanne Shurvin-Martin growing population, most recently approximately 126,800, of which about three-quarters are from Somalia and South Sudan. There are also refugees from (North) Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea,
Namibia and Central African Republic. The lengthy list illustrates the many troubled areas in the region. Nyabala explained the factors which force people to become refugees, including governance issues, political conflict, tribal
and religious tensions, natural disasters such as drought, and economic issues. PWRDF and NCCK fund Integrated Reproductive Health Care support to refugees in camp, most of whom are under 30. The programs include HIV
mitigation, safe motherhood advocacy, adolescent reproductive health, encouraging youth to stay in school and work against sexually transmitted infections and harmful traditional practices such as genital mutilation. The refugees’ literacy rate is very low, so the education programs make use of theatre, tailored to their culture, language and religious beliefs. The camp staff are challenged by the constantly changing community, meaning there are always new arrivals. They also train “incentive staff” drawn from the refugee population, who serve as mentors and trainers to their communities. Skills training are also offered, so that refugees can be self-reliant, which gives an alternative to entering the sex trade. Nybala gave examples of making metal storage boxes from empty oil tins, making wooden belts, operating a bakery and raising rabbits and poultry for food. Kakuma was originally designed for 90,000 and Nyabala said overcrowding causes lack of privacy and increased risk of infection and sexual abuse. See ‘PWRDF’ on page 6