We pray for rain.

We pray for rain. For our crops. For our animals. For our livelihood. We are farmers. Without rain, we have nothing. So we pray.

We watch the skies. We see the clouds. The lightening start. But we wait. We still aren’t sure our prayers have been answered. Until the wind. Then we run. All activities cease. We run for shelter. If you move too slow, the sane will start blowing and your eyes begin to burn. So you run. And you wait. For the rain to stop banging on your tin roof and the dirt to stop twirling in the air through your windows. You wait until it is safe for you to emerge. But you are thankful your prays have come true.

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One May morning, I rose with the intent to start the day’s program as planned. The downpour turned into a drizzle and I was 30 minutes late for our vaccination campaign. After washing and eating, I zipped up my raincoat and hopped on my boke. As I arrived at the market to retrieve my cell phone (charging overnight there), I was astonished to find one sole individual at the usually bustling “downtown.” Realizing I was not gonna get my phone, I continued to the health center where I waited two hours for the nurse. On my journey, I spotted a total of 5 people.
“Karla you came out in the rain?”
“Yes we were supposed to be here at 6am.”
“Yes but it was raining.”
That’s when I learned we don’t do anything when it rains. Nothing. And that the next four months will include a lot of downtime.

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My desert village is now green. Grass and shrubbery cover the previously hills of this land. In a matter of hours of rain, rivers and lakes emerge, making some roads impassable by my bike. Toads croak all night creating what resembles radio static sounds. With the reappearance of the frogs, other creatures begin to exit hibernation. Bright red velvety insects speckle my path home. Flies don’t disappear in the evenings. And mosquitoes buzz with their Malaria laced bites.

This is the start of rainy season and it will last until the final days of September. We pray for it. But I’m not sure I like it.