RAIN

It is not only the ‘Christmas recess’ that is delaying our aid programme, but also… the rain. After years of drought due to El Nīno, it is now its sister La Nīna. This weather phenomenon brings rain, lots of rain. At first it seems like a gift from God. However, the opposite turns out to be true. After years of extreme drought, the ground is as hard as concrete and therefore hardly absorbs anything. In no time, deep and very wide riverbeds turn into deadly, raging rivers that, without mercy, drag along rubble, household goods, cars and even people. If anyone has tried to set up a vegetable garden in recent years, they can start again, because everything is washed away within a few hours.

We travel to the Etosha National Park and Damaraland, which is fortunately drier and therefore safer, and wait.