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July 30, 2010

Arrival in Burkina Faso

I arrived in Ouagadougou last night, with my good friends and colleagues Steve and Charlie, but sadly without Lynne, who has been feeling very sick over the last few weeks. She has postponed her flights and will be joining me later.

Our vehicle's battery was described as being "as dead as a stone", so need a new one. I was planning anyway to spend some time in Ouaga, buying furniture for our new house etc (Lynne has given me a list!), before heading up to Gorom-Gorom. But the journey up there is looking uncertain. The Dori-Gorom road has apparently become impassable because of flooding, leaving Gorom cut off for four days.

And the dam at Tougouri, on the way to Dori, has burst, flooding areas in the east of Burkina Faso, leaving 20,000 people homeless.

We like rain here - it is great news for the fields - as long as it doesn't get too much! Over recent years we have seen the effects of climate change on the north of Burkina. Weather conditions have been getting more extreme - often with huge rains at the start of the season, followed by long dry periods, which ruins any hope of a harvest in the fragile sahel areas on the edge of the desert.

Please pray for a good rainy season this year, and for a fruitful time for me during my stay here. And of course for Lynne to feel much better quickly.Thank you.

Posted by Keith at July 30, 2010 05:52 PM