Rain Delays Play

It’s been a nightmare. The last 3 days have easily been the most stressful and almost all of it has been caused by rain.

Our first day into the campsite was delayed due to rain-delayed loading in Nairobi. We arrived as a thunderstorm was brewing and simple tents were set up in the rain for us to get what was surprisingly a restful first night of sleep. I wasn’t mentally prepared for any of this but my body was probably too exhausted to handle the anxiety.

Multiple vehicles have been getting stuck or are still stuck on sections of the main access road into the venue. Many of our team have spent their night asleep in the vehicle because there’s not much we can do in the dark and in the rain. The most frustrating one is the water bowser because water is life. Thankfully we came onto the site with the bowser at full capacity.

Last night the unthinkable happened. One of our trucks rolled onto its side as the rain took its toll on us. The slippery ruts are ruthless in this venue. This is not “Suswa” as you might be expecting.

The crew is all fine except for one with an ankle dislocation that was quickly dealt with at a hospital and some help with our network. I must give a special shout out to Senga Technology who have been our transport partner for many years now. They very quickly mobilized a truck within an hour of the request as we have one more truckload that needs to be on-site on the 31st.

My reaction to the news last night was one of absolute calm amidst an incident that we only had multiple versions of through mobile phone conversations. To suddenly be thrust into a position where you have to prioritize the sequence of activities with a level head was a scenario that I have played over and over in my head but never had to act. Leadership and not management. Understanding the emotional and mental state of the crew of 9 on that truck and guiding and coordinating the communication accordingly was important. Now we move on to getting that equipment onto the site and do our best to continue supporting the event. Definitely our worst nightmare coming to reality.

We’ve also been dealing with community land disputes and old men not understanding the event. It unravels the politics of the local community very quickly but we bear the brunt of it because we are first on-site. Spending 2 days not knowing if we have to move our entire camp or not is anxiety-inducing as well.

Planning before the event gives you structure. Troubleshooting at the event gives you teamwork. The true colors of people’s personalities are what make or break the team. I have seen leaders look for leadership in the last few days. I have seen seasonal anxiety disorder because of the rain. I am feeling my body on the verge of cracking.

Rain is a blessing but it plays havoc. If this gets published and read before you arrive at the Rhino Charge please know we tried our best. Support us by doing a “pause the rain” dance and subscribing to our biweekly newsletter.