Here in the Dodoma region of Tanzania we are well into our rainy
season. And that really means something in
Dodoma. When I arrived in late August,
you would be hard pressed to find much of any green. Dry dry dry.
I didn't even see my first cloud here in Dodoma until late October!
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| BEFORE (THE RAINY SEASON) |
But now the rain has definitely arrived.
And from what I’ve been told, it’s been more plentiful this year than
usual. This is very good news: many
villages are being affected (in some cases severely) because of a poor harvest
due to a drought last year. The fact
that villagers could not effectively practice agriculture last year really puts
a strain on households in villages across Dodoma region. Although crops benefiting from this most
recent rain will not be harvested for several months (meaning that the food
shortage is still a serious issue) there at least seems to be a light at the
end of the tunnel.
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| AFTER! (ISN'T IT AMAZING?) |
And you can tell people are happy. Maybe it is a universal thing to talk about
the weather, but I have noticed that many Tanzanians remark upon the rain with
a glad heart. You can be sure that we
will be giving thanks at church if we receive rain a day or two prior to
Sunday.
But for all of the benefits that rain provides to peoples’
livelihood, some serious issues arise when the torrential rains come to Dodoma.
For Tanzanians who live in mud brick houses, the imminent
danger is collapse. Whether a single
wall or a majority of the house, such an incident can really put people in a
tough spot. They often have to
temporarily abandon their house and live elsewhere and it is not always clear
how quickly they will be able to build their house back up once more.
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| A house with a collapsed wall |
The other danger is the burgeoning rivers that easily flow over the low concrete bridges across the region. A few weeks ago, in a town several hours away, some 200 people died when a ferry sank in such a river. Instances of vehicles and people getting swept away are not uncommon as well.
For me it can be difficult to understand why anyone would
take the risk trying to take on such a force of nature. But it should not be forgotten that many of
these people simply do not have resources to cope with such conditions whenever
they arise. As my co-worker Rev’d
Emmanuel put it to me, contending with flooded rivers is just a part of life
for many Tanzanians here.
Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of such double-edged
things, the hope and the havoc that rain can bring. I guess really life seems to be like that a
lot of times. Either way, the next time
I am in church and we give our thanks to God for the rain that is helping
people in Dodoma to prosper once more, I will be sure to also say a prayer for
those who have tragedy befall them due to the rains as well.
