3.3. Compensation Packages and Transitional Camps

Initially, there is a compensation package issued by the government about in a Kenyan of 10,000 which is about 100 Euros per IDP household and an additional 25,000 for each household with a destroyed house. So, that is how they have given about 250 Euros+100 Euros, so that is a kind of compensation package.

The compensation packages were designed to provide financial support to households affected by political violence in Kenya. Each household that had to relocate due to violence received a baseline amount of 10,000 Kenyan shillings (around 100 Euros). Additionally, households whose homes were destroyed received an extra 25,000 Kenyan shillings. This monetary aid was aimed at helping displaced persons cover immediate needs and facilitate their recovery after losing their homes.

Imagine you live in a neighborhood where a lot of families have been forced to leave because of a nearby conflict. The government decides to help by giving each affected family some money to cover their needs. This is similar to how someone might receive aid after a natural disaster. Just as those families might receive checks to replace lost food, clothing, or housing, these displaced households received financial support to help them start over.

But then this was not very successful, different and analysis report and evaluation reports talk about this particular process lacks accountability and consistency in a location of 10,000 and 25,000 Kenyan currency for these IDPs and this is where, they also started an operation called operation Rudi nyumbani, which is the how to return to home.

While the compensation packages were intended to provide immediate relief, they faced significant problems. Reports indicated that the distribution of funds was inconsistent and lacked accountability, meaning not all displaced people received the support they needed. Due to these challenges, the government initiated 'Operation Rudi Nyumbani' (Return Home), aiming to facilitate the return of displaced persons to their original homes. This operation recognized that financial compensation alone was not enough to help people reintegrate into society effectively.

Think of a school that tries to provide students with lunch money to help them eat after a crisis. If some students don’t receive their money while others do, it creates confusion and frustration. Similarly, if not all displaced families received their compensation, it made it difficult for them to rebuild their lives. Thus, the school decides to create a program to bring everyone back to their desks, ensuring they can learn and grow together again, just as the government aimed to help families return home.

Because, we cannot keep providing them all the facilities, for how long one can provide, so that is where the transition camps have been provided initially. But then how we can reduce the support system and so that how we can make them independent of this process.

Recognizing that constant financial aid was not a sustainable solution, the government started setting up transitional camps. These camps were temporary living arrangements designed to help people move from reliance on aid to self-sufficiency. The ultimate goal was to encourage displaced persons to become independent by providing initial support that could gradually taper off as they established their own lives again. This process involves supporting individuals while they find permanent housing and regain stability.

Imagine a child learning to ride a bike. At first, they need training wheels to help them balance. These wheels provide support while they learn. Ultimately, the goal is for the child to ride independently without help. Similarly, the transitional camps served as 'training wheels' for displaced families, offering them a temporary safety net while they figured out how to stand on their own again.

So, this is where many of these remaining you know they organized themselves into a self-help groups 50 to 4,000 households. And in order to obtain the land, each group member contributed its government cash handouts into a communal fund and bought rural plots of land for permanent settlement and moved there with their tents.

As displaced individuals began to establish a community, many formed self-help groups ranging in size from 50 to 4,000 households. These groups pooled their compensation funds to purchase plots of land for permanent settlement. By collaborating, they maximized their resources and created a sense of community, helping to rebuild their lives together rather than individually.

Consider a group of friends who decide to buy a piece of land together to start a garden. Alone, each friend might not have enough money to buy land or resources. But by pooling their funds, they can afford to buy and grow an amazing garden. Similarly, the displaced families worked together to secure a future where they could build homes and establish a community.

So, the government also try to reduce, we are planning to reduce their supports that they can slowly become independent. Whereas, the district level planning departments, they have actually assisted some of the groups in terms of land subdivision and tenure issues and also district water authorities also assisted some with the boreholes.

The government sought to taper off its support gradually while ensuring that displaced individuals had the necessary resources for independence. Local planning departments played a crucial role in helping these self-help groups with land subdivision and issues of land ownership (tenure). Additionally, water authorities assisted families by setting up boreholes for access to clean water, an essential resource for their new homes.

Imagine a farmer teaching his children how to plant and tend to a garden. Initially, he helps them a lot, showing them how to dig, plant seeds, and water them. Over time, he gives them less help as they learn to manage the garden themselves. This gradual reduction of assistance is parallel to how the government provided support to families to help them become self-sufficient, ensuring they had the tools and resources to thrive on their own.

In terms of housing reconstruction, because this transitional shelter it is not just a norm, it is not narrowed down to your product, it is a verb, it is a process, it is a catalyst to enable families to make a step change from dependency on external assistant, anticipated that the provision of transitional shelter on owners, land would be trigger return.

Transitional shelter refers not only to the physical structures built for displaced families but also to the overall process of supporting individuals in their recovery. It's about facilitating a change in mindset and helping families move from relying on aid to reclaiming their independence and dignity. This type of shelter provides essential living space during the transition between disaster and long-term rehabilitation.

Think of transitional shelter like a bridge connecting two shores. The left shore symbolizes dependency on aid, while the right shore represents self-sufficiency. The bridge allows families to cross to a safer and more stable place. The bridge itself (the transitional shelter) is essential, but the journey across it is what enables families to reclaim their lives and futures.

And how do one can identify the target groups, so what they did was, they have broadly classified into 3 target groups, one is those who wish to return to their formal place of residence, those who wish to relocate elsewhere in the country, those who wish to integrate in their current place of displacement.

To effectively assist internally displaced persons (IDPs), it is essential to classify them into target groups based on their intentions and needs. The three broad groups are: 1) Those wishing to return to their original homes, 2) Those who aim to relocate to a different part of the country, and 3) Those who choose to integrate into their current living situation. By identifying these groups, support can be tailored to best meet their goals.

Imagine a sports coach who needs to assign players to different positions on a team. The coach assesses each player's strengths and preferences. Some players may excel as defenders, while others might prefer scoring goals. By understanding these differences, the coach can place each player where they will succeed best. Similarly, by classifying displaced people by their plans, the government can better assist them based on their needs and help them successfully resettle.

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