Churches and civic organizations with Kenyan members in Houston, Texas are conducting a funds drive to help out their colleagues affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Through an online initiative dubbed “go fund me, Kenyans for Harvey”, the different organizations and Kenyans living in the US hope to help out their colleagues who have since been displaced.
“The journey to recovery will be long, but with your help we hope to make it less painful to those affected by Harvey.
This is about brother supporting brothers, neighbours supporting neighbours and most important strangers supporting strangers,” read one of the messages on the website. [https://www.gofundme.com/kenyans-for-harvey].
The Hurricane has left 50 dead and scores of residents left without homes and property which was destroyed
Houston Harambee operation-a local Kenyan Community initiative said they have not received reports of any Kenya know who might have been physically harmed by the Harvey.
“However, “We do know of 26 families affected,” said Brenda Beekay, an accountant at a Houston oil and gas company according to Daily Nation.
She is an active member of Houston Harambee Operation.
“Seven or eight have lost all their belongings. A majority have had housing damage,” she added.
Beekay said she was not affected at all by the Harvey because her house is perched on a high area.
But with the roads destroyed, it has become difficult for those in Houston to get to relief centres.
Dan Mugubi, a psychology professor at the University of Houston, said they are taking in fellow Kenyans who have been affected by the storm.
Affected Kenyans have contacted the Kenyan Embassy in Washington but have not gotten any response yet.
So far, through the initiative to help Kenyan hurricane victims currently stands at $340 (Sh35,000). They project raising $10,000.
Lantel Foundation-a Texas-registered charity headed by Houston Kenyan activist Bernard Wambugu, is being used to channel the donations.
By Pharis Kinyua. He’s an online Journalist and an author for Jamhuri News