IF TEARS WERE RAIN

Today I was guilty of praying for no rain because I wanted my clothes to dry. When it comes to washing, I will admit, I'm lazy and I procrastinate. Because we handwash our clothes here, I wait until the very last minute to do it. And then of course it rains just as my clothes are 90% dry. Some of our clothes were on the line for four days this week.

I've come to realise that my sense of perspective is pretty fickle. These days I get excited about rain (except when I'm trying to do washing); I'm eternally grateful when I turn on the tap in the morning and water comes out; I'm really happy when the President of Tanzania visits Arusha because it means we have power all day and I'm happy when someone posts me a bar of chocolate. Of course, they're all pretty selfish reasons to be happy because although our life here is very basic when compared to the Western world, we live far better than most people within a stone's throw!

The other day I got an email from someone who said "I'm glad your water issues are over", in response to my comment that we'd had lots of rain the last week! And I suppose from the other side of the world that seems like a reasonable assumption... But that's kind of like saying that a child shouldn't be starving because they get food for a week. They need food every day, and in the case of rain, Tanzania needs it regularly.

Initially, I associated drought with a lack of drinking water. I figured that was the main way that it affected countries like Tanzania. I was pretty naive! Since the drought became severe here, I have heard so many stories of failed crops and dead livestock. Families who have a subsitence style of farming have no food now because all of their crops have died. I know of local farmers who have lost 29 of their 30 cattle to the drought.

Tanzania needs AT LEAST a year of good rain to solve the current problems. And even at that, the water levels will be low and when water is low, it doesn't flow quickly enough o create electricity.

The most heart-breaking part is how much wasted water there is. The main problem is that there just aren't enough rainwater tanks and even if there were, few houses or businesses have any type of guttering to catch the water. It's a real worry when you don't actually have the means to solve your problem! It makes the whole issue cyclical.

I know I talk about the drought a LOT on my blog but it affects every facet of life here. And although I feel a pang of happiness when the rain stops long enough to let my clothes dry, I much prefer when it's raining!