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on Tricia Atherton (Rwanda), 24/Feb/2012 06:33, 34 days ago
Collecting waterThe Dry Season is almost at an end. Until this week it hadn't rained at all since John and Cat were here in December. In my last blog I wrote about the red dust covering the roads and surrounding vegetation. The dust got deeper and deeper until it was inches thick. Everything turns brown and it is very difficult to keep things clean. We are lucky, we have running water most of the time in our house but during the dry season the water goes off frequently and so when the water is available I have to fill up the jerry cans and the big water butt so that we have water for all our daily needs. In the countryside it is not so easy because as the water sources dry up the women and children have to walk further and further down the hill to collect water and carry it back to their homes. When water is scarce you have to prioritise - so water for drinking and cooking comes before water for washing clothes.cleaning the dust off my shoesShoes and feet turn orange with the dust and have to be cleaned regularly - I clean my shoes everyday - my Dad would be proud of me!!To some-one who comes from the UK the Dry season is wonderful but to the farmers here it is very worrying if the dry season goes on too long. So last week I joined them in praying for rain and on Saturday it rained for the first time. There was great rejoicing. I must say the world felt refreshed afterwards, the air was cleaner. But the season changes slowly and so far we have had rain on 3 out of the 7 days. This will increase as the days go by. It means that the road conditions vary now - sometimes there are still piles of dust everywhere and sometimes the roads are slippery because the earth cannot soak up the sudden rain.Next blog I will show you photos of roads in Rwanda - no motorways but excellent tarmac roads (A roads) in urban areas or from big town to big town, then B roads, C roads and totally unclassifiable roads!!Your Spring will be coming soon I'm sure the daffodils will be showing through - don't forget to let me know when you spot those gorgeous spring flowers.Lots of love to everyoneTricia