Hello Hot Season!

 

It is the time of year where everything has dried up and temperatures are increasing day by day. This is our first year that we will be here through May. We have always know April to be a particularly harsh month, but have heard stories of temperatures in the 130’s in May. We are talking candle melting, fry an egg on the street, heat! This April has either been milder than usual or we really are acclimating to the rising temperatures. By this time next month we will be praying for the rains to come and cool us off.

Yummy Mango

Despite the abundance of juicy mangoes, this is an incredibly hard time for the people of Burkina. Their yearly supply of food is dwindling and so is their supply of water. The majority of water that families use still comes from the small lakes (we call them barrages here) or from hand dug wells. These water sources are dried up. There are still not enough deep drilled wells to meet the needs of the majority of villages. Women and children are now walking, biking and taking their donkey carts miles from their home each day to get water for their families.

Dry Well

Traveling with jugs to get water

In our home we are blessed to have running water. Even so, we share the burden of the people as our water is cut frequently. Sometimes it is for a few hours and other times it is for days at a time. Just like our neighbors, we travel to fill water jugs to cook with and bathe with. It has been challenging, but we know that we will survive. We know that we can afford to buy bottled water to drink if we need to. Our neighbors do not have this luxury. The prayers of the people here is different. Dear Lord, allow the rain to fall so we can drink. So we can grow food to feed our families.
 

Still, you will not see sad faces on the streets and in the villages. What you see around you is great endurance, incredible strength and perseverance.