On New Year’s Eve, Kibet was hit by a large rock then forced to flee as a violent mob drew near carrying machetes. Blood dripped out of his skull as he fought frantically to stay alive. "I was thinking about my family. I was thinking I might die there," recalled married father of two.

Thousands like Kibet have been injured. And according to the Chicago Tribune, “600 people have died in post-election rioting and as many as 250,000 have been displaced. Both numbers continue to climb.” Why so much violence? Many refuse to accept fraudulent election results and have “had enough” of President Mwai Kibaki.

Kibaki saw significant economic growth during his last presidential term. Suspiciously, Kenya’s prosperity has not reached the hands of all of its forty tribes, but has seemed to remain in one—the kikuyu. Kibaki comes from the Kikuyu the tribe, which has a history of questionable financial and political privilege, causing yet another ethnic war in Africa.

In one place, however, these 40 tribes unite. And that is in the local churches. Realizing that they are “all one in Christ Jesus” they have come together to take care of orphans and each other (Gal 3:28). Warm Blankets Orphan Care has initiated orphan home construction in three areas of Kenya, Mt. Elgon, Kitale, and Lokichiogio, and now needs your financial support. Through your kind donations, these churches can continue caring for orphans and widows, and can bolster their broken communities

I was thrown to the ground, covering my body in disgust and shame. I did not turn around to see the soldiers who had just taken turns raping me. I could not cry because the tears would no longer come.

Minutes earlier I had watched the slaughtering of my husband. Then they took my sons, who kicked and wailed, knowing that they would never see their mother again. My boys would now be forced to fight for them, and they might as well have been dead too.

I could see a woman out of the corner of my eye. She stared at me, jaded. Sympathy did not exist behind her dark cold eyes because she had become a shell. She had suffered the same fate as I just had, long ago. Now she carried the soldiers’ baggage and cooked for them—the same men who had mercilessly violated her. Or, perhaps she was a prostitute, left with no other choice after the soldiers had defiled her body and destroyed her family.

I searched my soul for hope. How could I live now? Could I ever hold my head high again? But there was no hope, and I felt so empty that I was not sure if I still had a soul.

This is the story of women in the district of Kabinda in Kasai Orientale province, Democratic republic of Congo. It is no exaggeration. Kabinda has been overrun and recaptured several times during the last three years, causing unprecedented physical and psychological damage. Sex crimes and accompanying prostitution have also created an AIDS and STD crisis. This area is in desperate need of help.

Warm Blankets Orphan Care is already supporting orphans and widows in this area, but a home is not yet built. If this story has affected you, do not feel hopeless as the women and children of this village do. You have the means to bring hope into their lives