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Rainy night in Joza

Tue, 28 Jul, 2009

Grahamstown is unique for its ever changing weather, hot this morning, windy throughout the day or raining in the evening. The locals don’t take likely to this inconsistency as a result one weather phenomenon is always preferred against the other. One afternoon after a scorching 34 degrees Celsius, I could not help overhearing one resident echoing Phil Collins (the famous English singer) tune, “how I wish it would rain down”.   I don’t know what the rain was needed for as a matter of fact Phil Collins’ tune continues to say, “down on me”,

Later that day I visited a friend, who lived in one of Grahamstown’s old township, Tantyi. Clouds had gathered that evening; you could smell in the air that rain was coming. Nicholas or Levi as he is affectionately known was busy doing some repair work on his house. Build on mud, sticks and sheets of old pieces corrugated iron as roofing, this is one of the alternative shelter and homes for most of Grahamstown’s poor black people. 
As rain gathered momentum, thunderbolt, followed by lightning and a downpour took the centre stage. Rain competed with the thumping reggae beat in Levi’s sound system, Bunny Wailer wailing soulfully in the background. One downpour came through the roof straight to the sofa in such a speed. Within a short time the sofa seat was dripping wet. The owner was quick to respond, just in time to save the remainder of the seat.  He grabbed a plastic bath tub and put on the sofa.  In a split second another leak made a very disturbing downpour on the floor. The response was rapid; he grabbed a dish bowl to take care of that one.
A third leak poured on my leg, it was not intense as a result a cup took care of that one.  I thought about leaving, but it was also rude to leave my friend in such a desperate need for a friend or assistance.   In the meantime, Levi was eternally optimistic and positive, thanking the Most High for letting the rain fall so that he could see all the leaks in his shelter he called home. 
In a period of five minutes he ran out of containers, and as the guest, I had to fold myself meticulously in one corner to avoid the leaks. The house was literary raining down on me. It was safe outside than in. Levi, the eternal  optimist  drew my attention to the double blessing of water coming in through his roof instead of him having to fetch ‘dirty’ water with chemicals from the tap. He grabbed the containers, emptied them in a plastic 20 litre container. 
“What I like about this water is that I can wash and drink it”, he reaffirmed. This is the hard reality about every rainy evening and night in Grahamstown.   The municipality has speeded up the building of the’ RDP’ houses, but it is not enough. It is a case of too little too late.  Grahamstown East is in serious housing shortage, this is one of the basic needs for human survival. Optimism won’t chase the rain away. Maybe we need to give the people skills to build good low cost housing instead of building and giving them the RDP, something to think about.

 
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