Personal safety in a developing country

Upon our return to Vancouver WA, friends ask:  did you feel safe during your visit to Kenya?  Our answer:  yes, we felt safe & we didn't experience any scary incidents during our visit.  However we were encouraged to be aware of our personal safety & to take precautions .  Ray of Hope organizers urged us not to go into town alone at night & to walk in groups whenever possible.  If one of the women on the team needed to walk home  to their lodging nearby after dark, another team member always accompanied them.  In Migori,  a high hedge and gate protected our housing compound on the St. Joseph Hospital property.  The gate was closed & locked at night & a guard was stationed just inside all night long.  We were reminded to lock the doors to our house when we were gone during the day, but also at night while we were sleeping.  In Bware, our host family lived far off the main road.  Nevertheless, they had a steel door with three deadbolts they slid into place each night after everyone was ready for bed.  In Nairobi, the nicer homes in the more affluent neighborhoods had walls surrounding their property, topped with broken glass &/or barbed wire, steel gates with guards, and sometimes security cameras.  During our stay in Migori, we learned a female Peace Corps volunteer was raped.  However, most alarming to us was an incident that occurred on our last weekend in Migori.  Alice, our wonderful cook & housekeeper, was held up at gun point on her way to work!  Her assailant stole her money & cell phone but she was not injured.  Occasionally we read in newspaper about incidents of political violence.

We're concerned Kenya may experience a repeat of the 2008 violence that occurred after their last national elections when over 1,000 persons were killed and over 600,000 persons lost their homes as a result of ethnic violence.  The Kenyans we talked to don't expect a repeat of this level of violence when national elections occur again in March 2013.  They believe Kenya's new constitution, adopted 2 years ago, will head off any repeat of violence.  However, with over 40 ethnic groups in Kenya, many who are distrustful of other groups, additional violence is definitely a possibility.