For Va. Teacher, Kenya's Troubles Are Far From Distant

"He has a really wonderful way of connecting with kids and a real sense of mission from where he has come from, and an ongoing commitment to those who don't have the privilege our students do," said Daniel Paradis, the head of Potomac's Upper School. "He shares that commitment . . . with his students."

'It Is Really Bad'

In recent days, the violence quieted, after former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan arrived in Nairobi for peace talks, and then erupted again.

Even from 7,500 miles away, the crisis has taken a toll.

"Trying to manage it by phone, trying to show up for my classes and be there for them 100 percent, it's been very, very stressful," Okoth said. "I've lost my appetite. It's very hard to sleep, and I feel anxious about things I can't control."

Many of the Red Rose students remain in hiding or in displacement camps run by the Red Cross.

"Some of the children [have] not come back yet because their houses were looted or burnt," one of the school's teachers, Emily Mudavadi, wrote in a letter posted on the Red Rose blog.

"Anyway, we are happy because we are all alive and nobody was shot by the police or died in the fighting. . . . I am really doing a lot of counseling for the children. . . . Because their minds are not settled they are remembering what happened and how their houses were burnt. It is really bad."

Okoth said he is hopeful that there will be a resolution to the election crisis, but the renewed violence makes him worry that the country is in "rudderless free-fall." His family returned home from Tanzania to Nairobi on Jan. 22.

"It's very volatile," Okoth said. "I will feel better when we have a completed solution on the political front, but the politicians haven't reached that point. We're basing it all on prayer."