Sept 27 - The Sand River

     The last Maasai village we were going to visit would require the use of the van. This village is close to six miles from the safari camp where we were staying and across two river beds. The nearest river to this village was the Sand River, hence the name of this post.

 We’d been told the day before that we wouldn’t go if it was raining out, because it might be too difficult to cross the river beds in the rain. I wanted to remind them that the van got us out there in that torrential rain which had us stuck in the mud for an hour, but I had to let it go. These people knew what they were talking about and I wasn’t going to question it.

 Just like I didn’t question it when it was sunny all day for two days straight and it only seemed to cloud up around four in the afternoon, yet they told us we could only go out to this village around four. I would at least discover the answer to that question.

 But for now, you just need to know that Thursday, our first full day at the Mara, when those clouds to the west were so threatening, we were told we wouldn’t make the drive to the Sand River.

 The next afternoon, Denise and I sat ready by 3:50 pm, watching the rain clouds once again gather to the west, thinking this drive to the Sand River wasn’t going to happen.

 About 4:30, the van came screeching into the compound. “Let’s go,” Dann shouted, jumping out of the van and sliding the door open for us. It felt a little surreal. For some reason I was reminded of the last scene in the Christmas classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, where the toys on the Island of Misfit Toys had given up on ever leaving the island, when suddenly Santa shows up, with Rudolph leading the way, and those toys get to complete their mission in life by being loved by a child on Christmas morning. (Where do I get these analogies from??)

 Anyway, we leaped into the van with Dann and two strangers and started the drive to the village, as it began to sprinkle out.  

 The whole reason behind this trip was to follow the road which the children from this village walk every day to school and back. On a good day, the hike can take up to two hours, one way. When it has been raining, it takes much longer and is dangerous to cross the two rivers along the way.

 Also, this route in places runs nearly along the border to the Masa Mara Game Park. There is no fence to keep the animals in the park; they are free to wander wherever they want, which at times is right through where the school children are walking. It’s hard to imagine any parent sending their sons and daughters off to school every morning with all this going against them.

 Our host Izzo wanted us to see this area to help him decide if it is worthwhile to build a school closer to the village so that these kids are getting the education they need.

 When we got to the river, we soon discovered why we had to wait until this time of day. The rain had let up on our drive, but as we got out of the van and started walking into the river bed, it began to sprinkle again.

 We were met by women coming into the river from the other direction, each carrying a jerrycan or two. This was the reason to wait until after four in the afternoon. Twice a day, morning and late afternoon, the women hiked here to acquire water for their homes.

 The Sand River, as many bodies of water in the area, does not flow regularly with water. And the water that is there is usually stagnant.

 But the women have discovered something. Remember being at the beach as a child and digging in the sand a few feet from shore. Soon the ocean water would come up into your hole. Same principle here, and the water is now fresh and clean due to being filtered by the sand.

 Twice a day, the women dig holes in the mostly dried up river bed, wait for them to fill, then dip their cups into the fresh water, cupful by cupful, filling their jugs.

 We watched the women work for a while. I was willing to give it a try, but didn’t want to mess up their system and contaminant this precious water for them. They talked and laughed as they worked, mostly laughing at Denise and me, I believe. And the cold rain continued to fall.

 There is nothing, absolutely nothing, which will ever convince me that there is anything you do in your day to day chores which even comes close to this. This is why I keep going back to Africa. If there is just one tiny little thing, I can do which can make their lives easier, I want to find out what it is and do it for them.