No one ever said it was going to be easy.

2008 got off to a tumultuous start for Kenya, with the violence that erupted after the contested presidential election of December 27. With thousands forced to flee their homes, the country now faces the challenge of what to do with the camps of these displaced people.

Local governments, eager to be rid of the responsibility of maintaining refugee camps, are pushing to return people to their homes. But that is easier said than done, especially when those homes have been burned down or when spouses or children were killed by the neighbors. In addition, the displaced people often don’t trust the local government officials, who have repeatedly let them down. While the conditions in the refugee camps are far from ideal, at least they can count on some food, water, and sanitary facilities. Returning to home often involves an intermediate step: another refugee camp closer to home, which is promised but not yet set up. What guarantee do displaced people have that their needs will be met in the next refugee camp, or that such a camp will even exist when they arrive there? Many displaced people, understandably, are resisting governmental efforts to return them to their homes.

Friends Church Peace Teams, organized by the Friends Church in Kenya after the violence erupted, visit both the camps and the local areas which the displaced people fled, listening and building bridges. Recognizing that listening is the first step, the teams make themselves available to hear people’s stories, to listen to their fears, to hear their anger. The work isn’t easy. They hear horrendous tales, sometimes as the first persons to care enough to pay attention to the storyteller’s plight, thus receiving the full force of the person’s emotions. Sometimes they are rejected by angry people who see them as collaborators with an unjust government.

Recently John Muhanji, Director of the Africa Ministries Office of the Friends Church in Kenya, received a call at midnight from a District Commissioner, asking for help in getting people from a refugee camp in Eldoret back to their homes. The District Commissioner had met with hostility when he went to the camp and told people they would be returned to their homes, because it was the first time he had met them and they felt no assurance that they could trust him to meet their needs in the resettlement process. They told him that the only people who had been helpful in laying the groundwork for the resettlement process were the District Officer and the Friends Church. The District Commissioner asked John Muhanji, tired from strenuous travel and many other responsibilities, to join him and the District Officer the next morning at the Eldoret show grounds, where the camp was, telling him he was the only one who could make the day a success. After much protesting, John accepted reluctantly, asking God for wisdom and energy. (To be continued.)

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Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, churches, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2008 by Margaret Benefiel.