Konni

The other day was a trip to Konni for some hospital related business. We had a driver and one other staff member join us on our half day trip. Grace came along because she wanted to get some items for Sara’s wedding.
I just wanted to write down some observations on our trip to and from Konni.
There has been a fair amount of rain lately. When we pass through the countryside there is water in a lot of areas. Not enough to do any flooding. There are small river beds with no water. The countryside is definitely greener. There are trees on river banks where the water has eroded all the soil and the trees are standing on about three feet of exposed roots. How long they will last I do not know but they were full of greenery.
People of all ages, from very young to very old, are working very hard to generate a sustainable crop.
There is millet growing everywhere. It seems that wherever there is a piece of ground someone has planted either millet or sorghum. Some of it has sprouted out quite well with the rain. Some areas you can see have been replanted in hopes that a new crop will arrive with the recent rains.
There is millet to the edges of the road. There appears to be no separation from one crop to the next. As we drive by I wonder how they know what belongs to whom. I know that they know, it is just a very interesting sight.
I see people scooping water wherever they can find it on the roadside and filling wheelbarrows.
People come off the fields covered with mud. They pick up a stone and just scrape it off.
No tractors, no plows or other major equipment. Just a lot of toil with some rudimentary tools. It is a hard country and a hard life.
Keep praying for this country that physical and spiritual crops would be bountiful.
At one point, in Konni, a beggar came to us. Usually we give some kind of coinage, perhaps 50 or 100 cfa. We did not have any coin and he would not leave. The poor guy had no recognizable fingers and his face was distorted. These are always the hard ones, the disabled, because there seems to be so many. I had a 1000 cfa bill I gave him. I was told that was too much. When I think of this fellow I know it was not close to enough for him or his needs. I was just glad it was a quiet area of town and it did not attract a whole slew of other beggars. I don’t know if my wallet or heart would be able to withstand the potential onslaught.