It's drying up around here

Just last week I was complaining of the cold and rain we were experiencing in England, and looking forward to getting back to the nice warm weather in Uganda.

And it definitely has been warm and comfortable since we’ve been back.

But just today, a lazy Saturday spent without me even leaving the house, the only two people I interacted with other than my family both said something that made me rethink this lovely warm weather.


The first was a guy from the Water company who had come to read the meter. We shared the usual pleasantries, asking about homes and families, and then he said, “The only problem is this dryness.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head and said, “It doesn’t look too bad in town, but out in the villages…it’s toooo dry. People are crying for rain.”

I shook my head as well and said, “Sorry! It’s not easy.”

The second guy was our milkman.

“Karibu!” I said…Welcome.

As I held the saucepan for him to pour the milk into, I again followed the greeting custom and began to ask how he was, how was home, etc., but before I had gotten far he said, “Things are not good. No rain! All the crops are burnt. If you put fire they would just burn very easily. The sorghum, the maize, everything…just burnt.”

I clicked my tongue in commiseration and shook my head saying, “Sorry, it really is a very big problem.”

And he agreed and we both shook our heads some more and sighed.

But the reality is that this nice warm weather I’m enjoying will have terrible consequences for many people, and although I’ll notice the rise in prices and complain with the rest about how expensive everything is getting, it won’t stop me from putting food on my table 3 times a day. But for them…they’ll be eating beans and posho once a day and often going to bed hungry. It’s not easy.

So pray for rain over this dry land, and this time I’ll be happy to see it come!