My organisation, Africa Partnership on Climate Change Coalition, works in 3 districts in the region where I live. The place where I live is in one of these district. I have met a lot of people whom I am supposed to work with and a lot of farmers who suffer from the effects of climate change. APCCC organises trainings to teach farmers about climate change and helps them to adapt to the change and the challenges they face. I start to get an impression about the problems and about my contributions towards ‘solutions’.
Two weeks ago I got picked up from my (still temporary) house to go to another district I am supposed to work in. The pastor from the local church came with his car to take me to his area. Together with someone else I sat on the passengers seat, my bag with some spare clothes for a week on my lap. We stopped at the market to buy food that was put behind my back, on my feet and on any other empty place in the cabin of the car. After 1 hour drive in a very uncomfortable position we left the tarmac road. I guess we had God on our side, because despite the high speed and the nearly hits of cyclists on the dusty sandy path, we reached the Parish house safely. The landscape in the area is flat, the sun hot and the drought striking. The church ground around the Parish House is very big and is being used to grow corn, bananas and beans. The money made out of selling the crops is used for the church and the church farm does very well. The area does not have running water or electricity. The Parish house has the luxury of a rainwater harvest system. About 2 kilometres from the church is also a water pump that gives water for the people living around the place. In the evenings the generator is started to provide the house with some power to turn on lights as well as a television. Solar power is generated to charge mobile phones. In the evenings people turn up from the darkness, plug their phones in the socket of the house and come back the next morning to pick it up. The luxury of a rain water tank, a pump on a walking distance and a generator is in this district, however, rare. A lot of people I visit during this week live in a hut made out of mud or a mixture of mud and cement, their furniture is not more than a couple of mats on a layer of grass on the ‘floor’ and everyone is growing vegetables. Drought in this district is a major issue. I am shocked when I see the quality of the water people drink. Most people fetch their water at one of the water pools that, around this time of the year, are nearly dried up. The little bit of water that is available in the pools is dirty and probably needs hours of boiling before it is suitable for consumption. I already get stomach problems when I only look at it. A lot of children have to walk for miles and miles to fetch water before they go to school; the lucky ones have a bicycle to carry the load. The teachers I meet complain that a lot of children arrive at school late because of the lack of water sources around their houses. After my working day that consists of a 15 km walk to visit farmers and see their activities, I am exhausted. So what about all the women who are working in the hot sun on their farm lands, walk miles and miles to fetch water, make their food on a fire outside their mud hut and worry about how to provide their families with food the next day?
The two sisters that also live in the Parish house are responsible for maintaining and cleaning the church, the household of the house and the farming activities. During the week they are, above all, my Swahili teachers. With a lot of laughter they try and increase my knowledge of their language while I assist them with preparing the evening meals. I enjoy a week in the bush, learn a lot, and get enough inspiration to contribute to improvement of the situation. And, I am happy to come back to the ‘civilised world’ after a week in the bush. The running water from the cold shower definitely helps to get rid of all the dust!
