Since then the official death toll has topped 600, though some believe the real number is much higher, an ERD release said. More than 250,000 people have fled their homes. Temporary camps have been established for refugees in the country while thousands of others have crossed into Uganda and are seeking sanctuary there. Clean water supplies are already dangerously low and health experts fear a health crisis is looming.

"The events of the last week in Kenya have been grieving to witness," says Janette O'Neill, ERD's senior director for Africa Programs. "The marginalized and desperately poor have been bitterly let down by the politicians. The ferocious violence unleashed by the despoiled election process has left so many dead and whole communities fearful for their safety. Businesses have been burned to the ground, thousands are left without shelter."

ERD is responding to this ongoing emergency. "Our partner, IDCCS, the development arm of four Anglican dioceses in the Nyanza province of Western Kenya, is reaching out to those who have been left with nothing -- regardless of ethnic background," says O'Neill. "They offer food for the hungry and shelter and blankets for the homeless, but even more critically they offer a hand stretched out in reconciliation and friendship."

To help refugees affected by the political strife in Kenya, make a donation to ERD's "Emergency Relief Fund" online here or by calling 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development "Emergency Relief Fund" P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058.