"I love the rain because then no one knows I'm crying."
I have always wondered why people say that whenever they are sad, it rains. On the contrary, I like the rain. I love the smell of the rain and the freshness of the air after the rain has come and gone. There is a sort of cleanness after the rain and everything just looks brighter when the sun begins to shine on the glistening raindrops. After all, you can only see rainbows after it's rained.
But I have just returned from a land where there are no rainbows after the rain. There is no shelter from the rain and the skies still look bleak after a shower. A tear falls as each raindrop hits the ground but the tears still fall long after the clouds have dried up.
I am talking about Kanyaruchinya, a refugee camp which opened just over 6 months ago but already home to over 80,000 people displaced people. So many fight for their survival each day. Many go without food for days, praying for the next truck to bring some food to them. Others sleep on the mud in the pouring rain, hoping that they will the sunrise tomorrow.
There is no future in sight. Only the next minute counts. Will they go home? Will they die here? Will food come tomorrow? Will the war be over soon? In a life full of uncertainties, there is one thing we are certain of. Jesus loves them, we tell them. They are here, away from the unrest, where many are still dying from the conflict. They are safe and they are living this very moment. They are better off than those who have been killed by rebel forces. It may not be much comfort. You could say a life like this is no life at all. But there is a reason they are here at that very moment, as are we.
I know I will never forget what I have seen in Kanyaruchinya. Each time you see the rain, remember the people in Kanyaruchinya.
I have always wondered why people say that whenever they are sad, it rains. On the contrary, I like the rain. I love the smell of the rain and the freshness of the air after the rain has come and gone. There is a sort of cleanness after the rain and everything just looks brighter when the sun begins to shine on the glistening raindrops. After all, you can only see rainbows after it's rained.
But I have just returned from a land where there are no rainbows after the rain. There is no shelter from the rain and the skies still look bleak after a shower. A tear falls as each raindrop hits the ground but the tears still fall long after the clouds have dried up.
I am talking about Kanyaruchinya, a refugee camp which opened just over 6 months ago but already home to over 80,000 people displaced people. So many fight for their survival each day. Many go without food for days, praying for the next truck to bring some food to them. Others sleep on the mud in the pouring rain, hoping that they will the sunrise tomorrow.
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