It was dark when Jessica and I stumbled off the Matatu (taxi bus) after a long day of travel across Uganda on public transport. I could tell that the floor was a little muddy even in the dark as we entered our house. It smelled a little musty, but then again that is pretty normal especially when the house has been closed up for a couple days. The following morning our wonderful house worker Zainabo came and informed us that the entire house had flooded due to an all day down pour while we were away. She showed us the water line on the outside of the house at least a foot high! She had done an amazing clean up job considering the mess it must have left.
The clouds have been dumping a LOT of water on us lately. Last week our neighbors cement rainwater collection tank, full to capacity, had exploded. Later that same day I had just battled another flood.
It was a Saturday. Late in the afternoon more dark thunder clouds came tumbling in. Lilli had planned a party for the afternoon and had just come to tell us it was ready when the deluge began. We decided to make a run for it. So with Patton piggybacking under my rain coat, we ran. As we reached the gate I saw that it had been left wide open and Chloe our dog made an escape. Within no time she had cornered one of our neighbors chickens and secured it in her jaws. I ran Patton to the the Johnsons while Jessica chased after our poultry loving dog. The rain coat had not been much help so we decided the first party event should be to play in the rain and quickly forming large puddles.
After this event we were all cold and muddy so I went back to change. When I got back, there was a knock at the front door. Kilija with our fresh tilapia! I went into the front room and noticed some water coming under the front door, when I opened it the flood gates opened. I grabbed the fish and told Kilija to come back on Monday to be paid ‘cause I wasn’t opening that door again. After stuffing towels and some old inner tube rubber under the door I donned my raincoat again and my rubber boots, grabbed a hoe and went out the back door to assess the situation.
Two guys who were waiting out the rain under our neighbor’s porch pointed out (from their dry location) where the main blockage in our drainage ditch was. Bamboo, elephant grass and palm leaves were stuck under the fence and causing major flooding. The water was a couple feet deep in the yard and started to pour into the tops of my boots. I started hoeing out the grassy mess moving closer and closer to the fence clearing the debris. I had another Swiss family Robinson flashback and I prayed that there were no snakes lurking in the dark water. When I got to the fence I realized that to really clear the blockage I was going to have to jump the fence into the demonstration garden and hoe from the other side. So I set out to find a place low enough for me to get over. The garden is a bit over grown, but I made it through the banana trees and such to the place I needed to dig and almost immediately the blockage was cleared and I was well past my knees in water as it gushed under the fence. I was throughly soggy, but I had a major sense of satisfaction, as well as surprise that I had fixed (at least temporarily) the problem. When I came back the two men (still waiting under the covering... watching) informed me that the water was now moving and it would be okay. Then they asked if I had an umbrella so they could go home... I just kind of looked at them water coming out the tops of my boots. “NO! I do not have an umbrella.” Though I am not sure it would have done them much good. I mean water had even made its way into the pockets of my raincoat. Because when it rains in Bundibugyo... IT POURS!
