Though the Waters Rise, We Shall Rise Again

When I see pictures of flooded neighbourhoods in Kisumu, places I know like Nyalenda and Obunga… it feels like a punch in the gut. Seeing familiar streets in Nairobi?—?South C, Langata, and Thika Road, among others underwater break my heart. And those disadvantaged families in Kibera, Garissa, Budalangi, along the Tana River and Mai Mahiu watching everything they’ve worked for get washed away… it’s almost too much to bear.

But then I think of the stories I’m hearing. Fishermen in Kisumu, risking their own lives to pull people from rooftops. The way neighbours in Nairobi, even those who have so little themselves, are sharing food and a dry place to sleep with those who lost everything. The Mpesa donations and Paybill numbers for contributions. Volunteers knee-deep in muddy water, getting medicine and supplies to the most desperate?—?it makes me so proud to be Kenyan.

This is who we are. We don’t back down. We’ve been through hard times before?—?droughts, tough times, you name it. Every time, we’ve come out of it stronger because we help each other. It’s like our rivers when they overflow?—?our spirit rises to match it.

This isn’t going to be easy. Rebuilding, getting crops back in the ground around the Tana Delta, fixing those washed-out roads and houses… it’ll take time. It’s going to take real sweat and long days. But it doesn’t scare me, because I know we’ll get it done eventually.

We can’t let this beat our spirits. These pictures, stories, they need to light a fire in all of us, in the whole world. People need to see that we won’t give up and that we deserve help to get back on our feet.

So, to my friends in places that got hit the worst, those who lost so much, I want you to know this: you’re in my prayers. I believe in you. Your strength is what will get us all through this.

Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu....Natujenge taifa letu.The water will go down. And we’ll build back better, we’ll come back stronger. That’s the Kenyan way, our way!

With hope for brighter days ahead,

Julia Njoroge