Finding the Perfect Drought Story

We had finally spotted a river and I had the last picture. Added to the earlier shots of farmers preparing parched fields for planting, I was ready to complete another article about the ongoing drought. As we traveled towards Nairobi from an overnight stay on the eastern edge of Kenya’s Central Province, I began to mentally compose the new story – “The river was a babbling brook, not the customary mighty torrent. It could not begin to quench the thirst of the people, animals and fields along its way as it meandered to Eastern Province, just as it had left behind barren land and thirsty and hungry people in the Central Province.” A perfect introductory sentence…

Then it happened. We spotted people running with empty bags. Seconds later, women and men carrying filled sacks or with gathered shirts and skirts holding something walked past the runners in the opposite direction. Then people appeared hauling damaged bags on their backs, heads, shoulders, bicycles, or between two sets of arms. A trail of corn kernels marked their paths.

A scene that was a writer’s dream then appeared – a scene filled with emotions, activity, drama and possibly even death. We saw joy, hope, fear and greed all played out before us. Moving through the stalled traffic and scurrying people, we saw the wreckage of a truck. Hauling two trailers, the driver had lost control on the mountain road only minutes before our arrival. A mangle of metal remained, cushioned by bags of corn emptied on the highway. We spotted a clearly marked bag – it was labelled USAID. The truck was carrying relief food to starving Kenyans.

I cautiously clicked my camera as it was not a safe time to be snapping photos, but the most memorable views could not be recorded. These were the evolving facial expressions as the arriving runners and bikers gathered the remaining split bags and scooped the corn from the road with their bare hands, filling whatever they could find. Some of the faces were lean and their clothing was threadbare. Others were glancing around, watching for police that might send them away. It did not take much imagination to sense relief and joy as the scavengers walked away with their filled bundles. It was not just my vivid imagination, but likely reality, that these people were hungry. Many were young adults probably taking corn home to their hungry children and elderly parents.

There were also scenes of a joy that oozed of greed! It was painful to see strong men jump from the cars and matatus (public transport vans) ahead of us and throw open their doors and trunks. They then gleefully flung the few intact bags of corn in their vehicles before speeding away.

Finally we snaked our way past the accident scene. We never saw any sign of the driver or passengers in the truck. It is doubtful that they walked from the accident, so hopefully a Good Samaritan ahead of us took them to a local clinic. For the next few kilometres, we continued passing people racing towards the wreckage. Some were gaunt and weak looking kids and adults, others – to be honest – simply looked like youth who had been alerted through their cell phones of free entertainment!

It was last runner that I will remember even when this drought ends. She was a middle aged woman dressed in her Sunday best. Running is not the best word to describe her actions – she moved with a slowing limp. But her face showed an incredible determination. She was on her way to an obviously needed commodity. From her determination, I doubt that her thoughts were of herself, but of her children and others that were starving. It was improbable, extremely improbable that this woman would return with food. At the rate the corn was being salvaged, there would only be a few stray kernels remaining by the time the woman traveled the distance to the accident scene.

Yes, my goal was to share a great famine story with you, but not to win literary awards or merits. My desire is to share the perfect story for leading you to prayer. I know many of you, your friends and families are also suffering at this moment as our world faces economic difficulties. So why am I burdening you with the prayer needs of those who are starving in Kenya? Prayer is their only option. There is some relief coming their way, but it is impossible to adequately feed everyone until the rains come and crops are harvested in September or even next year. Some of those starving are the ones who lost everything during last year’s post-election chaos. Many are people who have no savings or even items to barter so they can provide their children with at least one meal per day.

I am also asking for your prayers because often, very often as these people face physical hunger, they also face spiritual hunger. They may be the ones who have not yet had the opportunity to know of and claim our Father’s Living Water and Bread of Life. Others are people who have neighbours, business associates from neighbouring people groups who lack the knowledge of the true God and His gift of Eternal Life. So as you pray for food and rain to end the physical hunger, pray also that Christians among the starving and those ministering in the famine areas will be strong and bold ambassadors of their heavenly Father during this difficult time. Bert Yates