RAINS AS SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS TO MANY!!!

The rainy season is here with us here in Kenya.It has been raining in most part of the country since the beginning of this month.Farmers all over the country have welcomed the rains with a great relief since according to them, the rains are long overdue.
I had traveled to my upcountry home on Sunday last week where I stayed visiting till Wednesday of this week.Our upcountry is very hilly and what I saw during my short visit is breathtaking!!!The beautiful landscape that was covered by green vegetation.Majority of the families were busy in their farms planting crops like maize and beans.
The good news is that , most primary and high schools have closed and the children are at home.They are helping their parents with the planting of the crops instead of hiring people/ domestic workers to do the manual labour for them who have to be paid at the end of the day.The money saved is used to buy fertilizers and treated seeds for planting from recommended dealers/shops.These seeds are disease resistance.
I had a chance to visit some of these farmers while at home, who shared some of their experiences with me.Many expressed their joy over what they termed as a miracle(the long waited rains)Even though they were expecting it would rain, they said at times they rains fail to come at the expected time/right time like in the  year 2011 and the planted crops in the farms dries up.This situation can cause drought  and famine and when severe it can results into loose of  people lives together with their animals.
Benson Mwangi is an upcoming young farmer .He shared with me how his maize and beans dried up last year.He was forced to buy food for the first time since he ventured into active farming five years ago because he depends on money he gets from selling his maize and beans to meet his household needs.Mwangi says the crops have been doing well in all those five years until last year when they failed to yield.
Majority of people in big cities like Nairobi hates rainy seasons because of what they termed as exploitation from public vehicles drivers and their conductors.When it rains, as I found out from many of these commuters who use these public vehicles as means of transport,  is that they get overcharged by double or triple their normal fares.This is because when it rains , there is alot of traffic jam and vehicles move ''bumper to bumper''kind of style.This situation causes these vehicles  to consume a lot of fuel. As we  all know fuel is quite expensive here in Kenya due to the rate of inflation which was experienced last year when the value of  the Kenyan shilling went down.
But when I asked Benson to comment about the current rains which we are experiencing as a country lately, he reaped with joy saying,"RAIN MEANS EVERYTHING TO US FARMERS!"Water is life,life to plants animals and us people.Without rains our farming is doomed and those who buy food from us will suffer too.Mwangi added ..''I hope this year it will come with good tidings.May GOD grant us favorable weather conditions and enough rains so that He can compensate me and my fellow farmers from the lose we experienced last year when our crops dried up.
As I was watching it rain this afternoon from the window of my house, I just remembered the elated Benson Mwangi and many other farmers  whose to them ''RAIN'' is a sign of good yields, hope and good tidings in their lives as farmers.We in Nairobi and other major towns laments when it rains because we don't want to be held in traffic jams or pay more for fuel of fare not knowing that the foodstuffs that we but at the market/supermarkets are as a result of these rains.What we take for granted as NAIROBI-ANS'' means so much to others out there.
I was left wondering at the diversities in peoples way of earning their daily bread.Oh!It is truly amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!Thank you dear God for these showers of rains; they are truly showers of blessings to us as a nation!