Thirteen and homeless in Nairobi

"They came into my house and started to loot everything and told us we had to leave" said Maria. "I felt bad and was frightened. We left everything in our house when we fled - we came here with nothing. We have been in the camp for three weeks. We came here with my mother."

 "They say everyone must leave tomorrow - I don't know where we can go. I would like to stay here. I am afraid that if we go to a new place to live that people will start fighting again." The Nairobi provincial government closed the camp in order to encourage families to return to their homes.

Maria was registered by Save the Children before the stadium was officially closed on 23 January. Information on children who have been registered with us is shared with other agencies so that we can plan effective emergency responses to help them.

"We learn in the tents here and have a kind of school", Maria said. "I love studying English. I want to go to school but people say that if we go they will burn it. They did not get peace so they say that if the schools open they will burn them." When we registered Maria we also gave her a pack of education materials. The materials, including exercise books and pens and pencils, ensure that she has the resources she needs when she is able to return back to school. 

Referring to the elections in late December which sparked off the ongoing violence in the country, Maria said, "They are fighting because the person who counted the votes did not count well. People want change - they don't want the same. We want peace badly, but other people don't."