New Zealand
Mercy: The Importance of Education in an Emergency
Mercy reminds us why Rewrite the Future believes education as a part of humanitarian response is so important...
15 January, Nakuru, Kenya - Mercy Njeri's smile lights up the gloomy stadium in Nakuru showground. She is 13 years old and she now lives in the showground with thousands of others. Her and her family are part of tens of thousands of people who have been displaced after unrest followed the national elections in Kenya.
Two days ago Mercy arrived at the showground; she has five brothers and four sisters. Not all of them made it to the camp. One brother is in another camp in Nanyuki and another still is in Eldoret.
"They did not know when we would get here so they went there instead. I know many people form our village in this camp. All my friends and my teachers left our village," Mercy mentions with a sorrowful look on her face.
Her village lies in one of the areas worst affected by the tribal violence in a district called Burnt Forest. "When the fighting came we left our house, we went and stayed in the church. There were so many people in the church all hiding from the fighting. I was very frightened. We stayed there for a few days before we travelled here to Nakuru. Our house was burnt to ashes and we only have what we could take with us," Mercy said.
The rain starts to fall on the showground and the sounds of frantic families moving into tents or under tarpaulins echoes in the stadium seats. "I miss my schools, I like to study. My favourite subjects are Kiswahili and science. When I am older I want to be a doctor. I don't mind staying here if I could study. I don't care where I am as long as I can go to school," explains Mercy, as she looks over the showground and the thousands of people gathered within.