The RAINS have come….Finally!

The big summer rains are critical to the people of Ethiopia. Without rains, there is no harvest, no food for livestock, and ultimately no income. Famine is not just a possibility, but a very real threat and in some regions of the country it is a current reality. The short rainy season that should have occurred for a few weeks during the months of March and April never arrived. Fortunately, the big rains have finally begun. And although they are late and not as torrential as they should be, there is a collective sigh of relief and a cautious celebration.

I am amazed at the transformation that has occurred in Ethiopia. What has been barren and dry since my arrival is now bursting with color and life. Baby donkeys, covered in a layer of fuzz much like that of a peach, frolic alongside their progressively plumper mothers. Teams upon teams of oxen, spurred by the crack of a whip, labor from dawn to dusk to prepare the fields for planting. The young and the old, armed with their rain boots and gessas (a raincoat made from grasses), flit about like bees in a hive. Oblivious to the cold and the mud, they work day in and day out to ensure that there will be a plentiful harvest.

For those of us who are “city” dwellers, the rain is inconvenient. It’s hard to look “professional” with your pants tucked into your socks or your lower half speckled with mud. If you are not slipping and sliding, you are standing stationary, balanced on one foot while trying to reclaim the other from mud that has the strength of epoxy. But NOBODY complains. The rain is the lifeblood for urban and rural people alike.

For me the rainy season has been a welcome respite from the relentless sun and heat. I have discovered that there is nothing more beautiful than the symphony of sound that is played out on the tin roof of my home. I truly LOVE A RAINY DAY!