A catalogue of Domestic Disasters

Rain, rain, rain and more rain.... that has been Kampala's daily weather for almost the past 2 months!

All this rain brings certain hazards...

1. Soggy ground....

 The ground has become so wet that trees have become dislodged. Beautiful trees have been toppling all over Kampala during recent months. This is such a terrible shame in a city so polluted that it needs every single tree to help us breathe better.

Imagine our shock last Tuesday lunchtime when the majestic jacaranda tree in our neighbour's garden came crashing down into our garden!

Apparently, the roots simply couldn't hold the weight of the tree any longer, as the sodden ground began to give way. There was one almighty crash- and lo and behold, the tree which gave us welcome shade and housed a mulitude of birds, was suddenly lying across our garden! I could barely believe my eyes...

We all felt extremely thankful that the tree fell sideways. If it had fallen straight ahead, its massive weight would have crushed our house and could have killed someone. It fell so unexpectedly and so quickly that it would have been impossible to get out of its way.

As it is, the fallen tree smashed the brick pillar and metal fence of our neighbour's wall and crushed the roof of our children's outdoor fort- but not even our dog was hurt.

It took several days, several workmen and supervision from Andrew to eventually cut the tree into manageable chunks and move the debris out of the garden.

There were some sad casualities- a nestful of pretty baby birds who came to rest in our garden, but sadly didn't survive very long.

Now there is a sorry gap where the kites used to nest and a strangely open skyline above our garden. What a shame- but what a mercy that nobody was hurt and that our house is still intact!


2. Health hazards

Rainy days lend themselves to coughs and colds and the spread of viruses. Our family ended up victims of a particularly nasty virus. First Esther, then Joel, then Ben, then Liz fell under the attack of a virus of high fevers, a wicked cough and general weakness. Many MAF families have also been hit.

Liz is still battling with the horrible cough, which awakens its victims at night with coughing fits and steals our sleep. The rainy weather also makes asthma worse, so Liz's health has been pretty bad for the past 2 months...

Poor Ben came under attack the day before his birthday and suffered through his 12th birthday with a high fever and generally being unwell. Since his mum also got the fever that day, it was not the happiest of birthdays - yet Ben managed to open his gifts with a smile and even smile for his cake! None of us felt like eating birthday cake, but we enjoyed the sparkling candle display!

A few days later, Ben was to celebrate his birthday with 5 friends- but the fever crept up on him and Liz again. The birthday party which should have been so much fun ended up rather a battle to try and be cheerful in company when actually feeling pretty rotten!


3. Cancelled outdoor events

Coming from England, I ought to be used to inclement weather creating havoc with outdoor events. However, I have become a little spoilt over the last 14 years of living on the African continent. These days, I expect sun more than rain! This makes the disappointment heavier when RAIN ruins plans for an outdoor party event.

Last Saturday, the day of Ben's party, dawned with the worst rainstorm that our Kampala friends say they have ever seen!

We had planned an outing for Ben and his friends to a paint-balling event. However, the paint-ball centre had to close due to flooding! With Ben feeling unwell anyway, the party ended up a little subdued. Thankfully, the other boys were still full of energy and good spirit and ready to adapt to a change of plans.

In desperation, Andrew called the cinema to see what was on... There wasn't a lot of choice, so what was supposed to be an energetic party with paint-balling fun actually ended up being a carload of boys being driven to the cinema to watch, "Frozen 2 " ....!!!! Horray for having a cinema in Kampala!

The best-laid plans...

4. Leaking pipes and moudly interiors

When we woke up to the pounding rain and a flooded garden on Saturday, we also discovered puddles in our hallway! The laundry cupboard has some kind of leak and water was merrily making its way from a swollen, wet bubble on the wall at the back of the cupboard, across the floor of the cupboard in a stream and plopping down into our hallway... Argh!!

There seems to be little we can do to rectify the problem, but having a damp laundry cupboard adds to the generally mouldy smell and feel of a very humid house. This may be Africa, but it is a very wet and humid Africa...

Thus life has not been as predictable and jolly as other birthday and Christmas seasons. Yet we are thankful that we were spared the danger of a fallen tree on our house and that the children at last are recovered from their virus! :-) And for those of you who pray, please would you keep Liz in your prayers, as she struggles to get well again after a long-haul of not being well and not being herself... Thank you! :-)