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First time ever Israeli Team to leave for Kenya – Somalia Border
Somalia - Kenya Border, March 1, 2007
First time ever Israeli Team to leave for Kenya – Somalia Border
(For Immediate Release March 1, 2007)
An Israeli humanitarian team is currently providing relief aid to Somali refugees on the Kenya-Somali border and conduct a needs assessment of the 160,000 refugees in three UN-run camps. Support for the mission has been provided by of B'nai B'rith International and the American Jewish Committee. The mission is coordinated by IsraAID – the Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid and is coordinated with the area office of UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The mission has brought together five Jewish and Israeli groups – all members and friends of IsraAID - who believe in offering an international Jewish response in disaster and emergency situations: B’nai B’rith International, American Jewish Committee, HIAS Kenya office, F.I.R.S.T. and the Jerusalem AIDS Project.
This is the first Israeli mission to access the Kenya-Somali border area to aid in the current humanitarian crisis.
The Horn of Africa (Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia) has been affected by the worst flooding in many years, causing hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons in a vast area. Somalia is currently the most affected country in the region. The flooding, in addition to the ongoing military conflict in Somalia, has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee to refugee camps in Kenya.
According to the UN World Food Programme, the number of refugees in Kenya has reached the highest level in a decade. Thousands of refugees continue to arrive weekly to the Daadab refugee camp that straddles the border of Kenya and Somalia, with some 200,000 already estimated to have found refuge in the camp.
The Israeli team departs following a request for assistance from the UN agencies treating the refugees and a request for assistance from local governments. The team will respond by distributing relief items to the refugees on the ground and compiling a report for future activity to benefit the refugees.
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