Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke forced to end Kenya work



After being stationed for the last 18 months in Migori, a small village in western Kenya, Schuenke watched from afar as the area descended into chaos on the heels of a disputed presidential election in December. More than 800 people have been reported killed by warring tribal factions, with much of the violence centered in the region where Schuenke had lived. "To see all this looting, all this violence, is so really sad to watch," she said.

Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke forced to end Kenya work

Park Ridge Peace Corps volunteer forced to end Kenya work

By Robert Channick | Special to the Tribune

February 2, 2008

Continuing violence in Kenya has forced a Peace Corps volunteer from Park Ridge to end a two-year mission to the African nation before she could even say goodbye to the people there. She worked with the Kenya Red Cross doing AIDS and hygiene education.

But Claire Schuenke, 23, was told during the Christmas holidays that safety concerns would keep her away from the place she considered her second home.

"It's not something that we enjoy doing, but we're prepared for it," said Amanda Beck, press director for the Washington, D.C.-based Peace Corps. As many as 144 volunteers were serving in Kenya on Dec. 27 when opposition leader Raila Odinga lost his bid to unseat President Mwai Kibaki amid accusations of vote-rigging. As ethnic violence spread in the aftermath, scores of volunteers were evacuated from western Kenya, according to officials.

Although more than 60 volunteers have continued their service in central, eastern and coastal areas of Kenya, most volunteers have left, Beck added.

Offered the choice of transferring to posts in another country or ending their service in good standing, most of the displaced Kenya volunteers chose to leave, including Schuenke.

After being stationed for the last 18 months in Migori, a small village in western Kenya, Schuenke watched from afar as the area descended into chaos on the heels of a disputed presidential election in December.

More than 800 people have been reported killed by warring tribal factions, with much of the violence centered in the region where Schuenke had lived.

"To see all this looting, all this violence, is so really sad to watch," she said.

A 2006 graduate of Marquette, she hopes to parlay her field work into a public health career.

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Headlines: February, 2008; Peace Corps Kenya; Directory of Kenya RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Kenya RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers