The rains have wreaked havoc across East Africa. Our part of northern Kenya is no exception, however, here at least it seems that the rains are now abating. The 'long rains' are normally not that long for us, the forecast and the weather signs seem to indicate that they are now coming to an end. Though these unexpected and excessive rains have left a trail of destruction and heart break, it has also left us with a lush and verdant landscape, of a kind not seen here for a decade at least. Children and teenagers have no memory of seeing such long grass or so many flowers. Rivers have carved new channels and places that never had water now do (at least for a while). Our village has two noisy new waterfalls along a new river, it used to be a small stream during the rainy season, though even that has been dry for the last few years. Traditionally during the school holidays children take over much of the herding duties. The ... Continue Reading
