Kenya Rescue 2008
charles | 05.03.2008 09:23
In January 2008, Brittanie and Aubrie VanderMey and their friend, Jamie Cook, found themselves in peril and suffering through a week of terror and uncertainty due to election violence in a small Kenyan village where they worked in an orphanage as Christian missionaries. Desperate to bring the young women home safely, Dean VanderMey, Brittanie and Aubrie’s father, searched everywhere for someone to help. Only one organization said they could—Blackwater Worldwide.
Dean VanderMey, who runs a Christian ministry in Michigan with operations in Arica, had allowed his daughters and their friend to volunteer at the orphanage in Kimilili, Kenya, for three months. Their original plan was to spend time caring for orphans affected by HIV or AIDS, but post-election violence was about to cut their stay short.
ANewscasts advised them that violence was coming closer each day to the orphanage in Kimilili. As Masai warriors guarded the orphanage with spears and knives, Brittanie, Aubrey, and their friend, Jamie, wondered how they would make it back home safely.
The young women had been in Kenya for almost a month when they received reports of towns and villages being burned and destroyed, and of armed gangs and militias killing hundreds as the violence spread rapidly. When Dean VanderMey, home in the United States, first learned of the turmoil on December 28, he was not aware of the full extent of the danger which threatened his daughters and their friend. “We didn’t realize the severity,” he said, “until news reports became more frequent and dramatic. Roads were being closed by militias, and vehicles were not allowed to pass--especially not towards Nairobi and the international airport. There were over 500 dead and more than 75,000 people homeless, with corpses littering the roadsides.”
VanderMey became frantic when he was unable to find a helicopter or plane to bring the girls out. He called government officials, congressmen, and others he felt might be able to help get his daughters and their friend home safely. “I wasn’t getting a whole lot of answers,” VanderMey said, and the girls were advised to stay put and not move until something could be done or the violence subsided somewhat. “I wasn’t satisfied with the stay-put response.”
Finally, the family made contact with fellow Michigan native Erik Prince, founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide. Prince immediately offered to assist, and had a Blackwater operative fly to Kenya from Afghanistan to run the extraction operation. He was able to locate a private aircraft capable of landing at a small airstrip near the orphanage—which VanderMey paid to rent—and the three girls and several other international workers were quickly flown to Nairobi, where they were placed on a commercial flight home. Blackwater covered all costs of setting up the operation and bringing in the rescue team, and refused to accept any repayment for their expenses.
Dean VanderMey and his wife, Sharie, were overcome with emotion for all Blackwater had done for them. “They got it done and I was pretty impressed. A great ending to a pretty tough and rough week.”
Dean VanderMey, who runs a Christian ministry in Michigan with operations in Arica, had allowed his daughters and their friend to volunteer at the orphanage in Kimilili, Kenya, for three months. Their original plan was to spend time caring for orphans affected by HIV or AIDS, but post-election violence was about to cut their stay short.
ANewscasts advised them that violence was coming closer each day to the orphanage in Kimilili. As Masai warriors guarded the orphanage with spears and knives, Brittanie, Aubrey, and their friend, Jamie, wondered how they would make it back home safely.
The young women had been in Kenya for almost a month when they received reports of towns and villages being burned and destroyed, and of armed gangs and militias killing hundreds as the violence spread rapidly. When Dean VanderMey, home in the United States, first learned of the turmoil on December 28, he was not aware of the full extent of the danger which threatened his daughters and their friend. “We didn’t realize the severity,” he said, “until news reports became more frequent and dramatic. Roads were being closed by militias, and vehicles were not allowed to pass--especially not towards Nairobi and the international airport. There were over 500 dead and more than 75,000 people homeless, with corpses littering the roadsides.”
VanderMey became frantic when he was unable to find a helicopter or plane to bring the girls out. He called government officials, congressmen, and others he felt might be able to help get his daughters and their friend home safely. “I wasn’t getting a whole lot of answers,” VanderMey said, and the girls were advised to stay put and not move until something could be done or the violence subsided somewhat. “I wasn’t satisfied with the stay-put response.”
Finally, the family made contact with fellow Michigan native Erik Prince, founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide. Prince immediately offered to assist, and had a Blackwater operative fly to Kenya from Afghanistan to run the extraction operation. He was able to locate a private aircraft capable of landing at a small airstrip near the orphanage—which VanderMey paid to rent—and the three girls and several other international workers were quickly flown to Nairobi, where they were placed on a commercial flight home. Blackwater covered all costs of setting up the operation and bringing in the rescue team, and refused to accept any repayment for their expenses.
Dean VanderMey and his wife, Sharie, were overcome with emotion for all Blackwater had done for them. “They got it done and I was pretty impressed. A great ending to a pretty tough and rough week.”
charles