The Dark Side of the Rain

I have often called the wind a cruel mistress, but I am beginning to think the rain is at least on par with her. Sure, the rain has made the land lush and greener than I imagined Burkina could look and it definitely helps cool the country down, yet we have all experienced the nasty side of the downpour as well. It is clear that the number of bugs has exponentially increased , especially with regard to flies and mosquitoes. This is a huge problem (as opposed to a nuisance in the U.S.) because flies promote diarrheal illnesses and mosquitoes of course bring malaria, two of Burkina's most serious health issues. My village alone has seen over 1,000 cases of malaria this rainy season so far (note that most cases are not considered serious and that over 90% of the cases in Aorema are easily treatable with medication from the CSPS.

Another serious issue with the rain has been flooding. While I have become accustomed to biking in mud and wading through pools of murk to get into town, last week Burkina saw its worst flooding it had seen since apparently 1919. We were told that over 150,000 people in the capital city of Ouagadougou were homeless, that many people were missing, and that at least three people died because of the inodations. For us volunteers it meant that travel was restricted for the time being, which actually prevented me from going to my major's wedding.

Lastly, the extra foliage that the rainy season has brought has become a perfect place for snakes. A few nights ago while a group of us were out watching TV, I hear my midwife yell that there is a serpent in the brush. Everyone cautiously walks over to her, and sure enough we spot a white snake about a meter long. Now I am not a fan of killing animals (even snakes) and if we were in the U.S., I would have entertained the idea of trying to catch it and release it back in the wild. But considering I live in the wild and the nearest antivenom is possibly three hours away, the two-by-four lying on the ground was looking pretty good. At first they tell someone to find a boy to deal with it, as they are all afraid and probably can tell I want little to do with it. But defending what honor and manhood I had left, I picked up the wood and started wailing on the poor critter. It took at least 15 good swings to actually kill the snake, and even after we chopped of its head, it was still slithering.

Thank you rain.