Big-hearted citizens who counselled, fed relatives

Kenyans who have been voluntarily counselling and feeding the relatives of Garissa University students who were killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAHI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Volunteer counsellors and caterers have been serving the victims and their families.
• Public-spirited Kenyans from all walks of life brought food and drinks to feed hundreds of people who have been camping at Chiromo from Saturday.

By MAZERA NDURYA
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There has been an outpouring of generosity since Al-Shabaab terrorists killed 148 people at Garissa University College, 142 of them students.

Volunteer counsellors and caterers have been serving the victims and their families camping at Nairobi’s Chiromo and Nyayo National Stadium while extending the same to the counties.

On Monday, the Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association chairperson Kimani Githongo said more than 200 professional counsellors had been sent to Chiromo and counties to help families cope with the trauma.

“Ours is psychological First Aid, which helps to stabilise the students who survived the attack and parents as well as relatives of those who lost their lives.”

Said Mr Githongo at the Chiromo Mortuary: “Any crisis of this magnitude is traumatic and that is why we have been involved right from the word go and we will continue with counselling to ensure that all those affected can go through this difficult time and also carry on with their lives afterwards.”

He said the professional counsellors are volunteers who respond to such tragic events but in some cases they go beyond counselling by reaching out to organisations to help in other support activities such as food and shelter.

But Mr Githongo said the level of government disaster preparedness was wanting and needed to be strengthened.

“The non-governmental organisations have been proactive and any time we call upon them for support they respond very fast.

“We helped to set up the tents here because we realised there would be many people here coming to check the status of their loved ones. The process of identifying bodies is quite harrowing and this might affect the lives of the relatives if they are not counselled,” he said.

The KCPA chair said some of the counsellors had been deployed to counties to follow up on the students who have gone back home.

STEADY SUPPLY

Public-spirited Kenyans from all walks of life brought food and drinks to feed hundreds of people who have been camping at Chiromo from Saturday.

Ms Wambui Cheche from St Andrew’s PCEA was leading a team of church members and other groups in setting up a steady supply of food as more people were arriving to trace their loved ones.

“We realised that there would be people, especially families coming here and decided to come and help. At first we just came with little stuff thinking that it would only take about two hours but realised that more people were coming.”

Said Ms Cheche: “On Saturday, we used our own money because we thought it would take about two hours but the situation was different when we got here and had to start a serious programme that also included asking other organisations to come.”

She added the church’s committee on social responsibility was roped in because of the overwhelming number of people who were arriving at Chiromo.

What is encouraging, she told the Nation, was that other churches like the Karura Community Chapel joined hands with the Kenya Red Cross, provided more cooking facilities and food to feed the crowds.

“It is gratifying to note that well-wishers came willingly to give and for now we have enough to feed the people.

“We have also received many volunteers, especially the youth, who have been helping with distributing the food,” she said.