6^th September 2021

I sat down to write and while contemplating where to start, I heard a commotion in my kitchen.  Going to check, I found my goat Ruma looking for more snacks.  She has an insatiable appetite.  It doesn’t matter that she has been out grazing all day and is given as much hay and supplemental leaves as she can eat.  She must check my kitchen every morning and evening for delicacies.  She loves fruit salad, potato and carrot peelings and cabbage.  Wheatabix cereal and the cooked soya-based dog food are also on her menu of choice.  Earlier this evening she had hit the jackpot of a plate of banana peels that I had saved for her from my afternoon activity of baking banana bread.  I had sent her off to hang out and do goat things with the other goats, but she had different ideas.  I found her climbing up on the stove to get a couple bites of the cooling dog food.  So, she is now chased off again and the door is closed.  Makes the house a bit hot but it is the only way to concentrate with her in munchy mood.  

I got back to my village in the North a few days ago from a week-long trip to Nairobi for various work and life activities.  Though only 520 kilometers separate the two places, they are like different worlds.  The day I arrived in Nairobi it rained and the whole area is quite lush and green.  On the way back I passed near Mt Kenya with its high altitude and cool weather.  I also got rained on there as I was shopping for the trip home.  Here in Ngurunit it is so hot during the day yet quite cool in the mornings.  We are praying for rain as drought like conditions are setting in.  The long rains of March to June mostly failed.  The short rains aren’t expected till mid-October.  Yet we have some hope that the rains might come early.  If they don’t come soon, things are going to get very hard.  So far there is still some pasture for grazing, and leaves and certain roots can be gathered for supplementary feeding of the livestock.  Most herds are off at distant grazing camps and following the spotty rain pattern.  But that life is hard and dangerous with risk of raids and fighting over the scarce resources.  Also, moving weak animals is difficult.  Coming from Maralal a couple weeks ago, herds of cattle were being moved towards greener climes up the mountain and I passed several dead calves left in the ditch as they couldn’t take the stress.  Very sad.  Climate change is a daily reality here in Northern Kenya. 

One major issue I’m dealing with is the Rotary community hand pump well in Ngurunit.  It isn’t working.  This well is one of the few good water sources in the area, so it is imperative to get it fixed.   One of my errands in Nairobi was to buy rubbers for the well pumping system so the first thing I did after getting back was to go fix it with the new parts.  Unfortunately, we discovered there was a bigger problem than just the rubbers.  So now I am organizing, trying to organize with some difficulty, some assistance on getting the job done.  Technicians are few and far between and transport is not easy.  Parts too.  Fingers crossed we will have the know-how and way to fix the pump within the next few days.  All will be well.  (pun noticed after the fact…haha). 

Darkness is descending as I type.  Things are quieting as everything settles down in the evening twilight.  The heat of the day is radiating off the ground and out of the walls of my house as it starts to cool down.  I have been able to open the doors for a breeze as Ruma is off to her pen for the night.  I will go out to gaze at the sky in all its beauty.  I will rest in the Peace of the moment.  Till next time…enjoy!