Source: www.persecution.org
Date: July 19, 2024
Kenya (International Christian Concern) — On the night of August 21, 2023, the Somali-based Islamist group al-Shabab committed a devastating attack on a Christian community in Salama village, Lamu County, Kenya. The attackers also destroyed Redeemed Gospel Church and numerous homes, leaving more than 15 families homeless. This incident is part of a series of attacks conducted by al-Shabab in the Lamu region, exploiting its proximity to Somalia and attempting to forcibly convert Christian residents to Islam.
“The clothes you see on me are the only possessions that remain, as all my other clothing was reduced to ashes when my house went up in flames,” said Moses, a husband and father of four who survived the attack. “Along with it, they took the food I had stored, including a bucket of groundnuts.” The man credits the Lord’s guidance for his absence from home when the jihadists arrived.
International Christian Concern (ICC) provided immediate relief to the families, distributing food aid at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. Additionally, ICC implemented long-term solutions by resettling 15 affected families in secure housing and providing livelihood packages to help them rebuild. Each family received a motorbike, offering a means of income generation and a path toward self-sufficiency.
Speaking on behalf of himself and the 14 other families affected by the attack, the Christian man thanked ICC and its generous donors.
“We would like to express much gratitude to you for the amount of love and support you have extended to us from the time we were attacked and displaced,” he told an ICC staffer. “Now we have been resettled and given start-up livelihood packages as we pick our broken pieces to face the future.”
*Name changed for security
Written by JHB