Last night I lay awake listening to the pouring rain. There were flashes of lightening, rolling thunder.
I always fear that the big tree in our garden will come crashing down onto our house during these storms and tell myself that I will definitely get around to doing something about it in the morning - ie get a tree specialist in to cut it - but never do. At around 4am I went around the house closing the kids' bedroom windows. The rain had already come in. The foot of our eldest's bed was soaked.
It's funny but the water leaks through the roof in different places each time, depending on the direction in which the storm is blowing. One day it was the little attic/office (last week drying out the scruffy carpet was a challenge and the room stank of damp for days), another time it was my daughter's bedroom. Last night rain dripped in and down onto the base drum that forms part of my daughter's drum kit. It made quite an impressive sound.
As usual, I lay awake at night thinking of how people in Nairobi are managing with their temporary houses. Whether Kawangware or Kibera is getting washed away.
In fact heavy rains have caused havoc in Kenya over the past week. Flood warnings have been issued in various areas across the country from coast province to Turkana. Numbers of people feared dead as a result of flooding and landslides are climbing. In Uganda, a landslide wiped out two villages.
Last week Samburu park was flooded when the Ewaso Nyiro River burst its banks. Bridges were washed away. In the early hours of the morning, tourists apparently fled their tents/bandas and sought refuge up trees and on lodge roofs as water levels rose suddenly and flooded through the camps. Many lost their belongings, some were injured. The Royal Airforce, Kenyan and UK army airlifted people to safety. I understand that Lewa conservancy staff were also helping with rescue efforts. Intrepids, Larsens and Serena lodges in Samburu have now all temporarily closed down.
It never rains but it pours.
www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenya%20floods%20bring%20death%20and%20havoc/-/1056/873842/-/ilykm7/-/index.html
The Royal Airforce?? I don't think so!
ReplyDeleteProbably was RAF...they do a lot of training in that part of Kenya...
ReplyDeleteDear Xpat Wife,
ReplyDeleteI would just like to let you know I am an avid reader of your blog. I live in Karen also, although spend a lot of time in the Mara and have been here 3 years. Your blog opens me up to all the goings on in Kenya as well as life for a mum in Kenya. You can somehow slip into living in your own little bubble in Kenya, ( as I don't have any children, and 25 years old) also as I work hard I rarely have time to keep up to date with the Kenyan news, and you put it in a simple format for us to understand in an instant. Not only that but you have a great way of writing which is humorous and light.
My partner also loves to keep updated with your blog.
Thanks so much and keep up the blogging!
Hi Anon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comment and thanks for reading! Well done with your work in the Mara. What do you think about the latest lcoal news coverage on 'illegal Mara camps'?
Oh dear, you’ve opened up a can of giant can of Mara worms! ☺ NEMA is a great concept if it worked. Some of the Jua Kali camps which have come up in the Mara area, my partner and I always wonder, do they really have all the licenses that you are supposed to have, from NEMA's initial Environmental Impact Assessment which costs a bomb, to the annual Hotel and Managers License and that is to name just a few. Every year we have to jump through hoops to obtain the 7 licenses we require. We were told last week you need a license for a compost heap You need a liscence for a Gift Shop And initially you can’t get this liscence without this, but you need that one to get this one, which you can’t get that one until you have had 6 months of this one. You get the idea!
ReplyDeleteThere are many 'mobati camps' is what we call them coming up all over the outskirts of the park. They don't follow health and safety regulations, they don't have adequate insurances to protect their guests. They send guests home with iffy stomachs and a 'lost' camera.
It really makes us investors feel like we are slightly picked on with regards to how we carry out our business. I agree with the majority of the regulations that are enforced. It's just the enforcers that are generally the problem.
Trying to get information on what regulations actually are is also where Kenya falls down. One person tells you one thing, the other tells you another. Set guideline are few and far between in any aspect ot f building and running a camp in the Mara (or anywhere in Kenya I assume) I would love a simple booklet of do’s and don’ts which all camp owners in the Mara area could have. I think it would go for a fortune
I could go on and on, as it is a hot topic in our daily lives I’m sure you appreciate. I generally think that the media is hyping up that they are crashing in on illegal camps in the Mara. On the ground, no change as yet. With the rapid decline of animal numbers and tourists it’s something that Kenya would be stupid to ignore. Less talk more action is my thought.