24/2/2017
Thought for today:
"During my recent six-week stay in the hospital, because of the many blood samples I had to take daily and cannulae that needed inserting in my veins for transfusions, I was advised to drink plenty of water to enlarge my veins and thereby ease the cannula fixing. I just happen to be one of those people whose veins are deep; making a cannula difficult to insert. All of this water drinking got me to thinking about water in general and how it is so scarce and life-threatening in so many parts of the world.
Having plenty for oneself turns off instant thought to others and makes us more comfortable in distant complacency. So often, we moan about the constant rain we have here in Britain, and in doing so, we take for granted many things that we dislike and have too much of, which parts of the world would and do die for! Thousands have lived without love, but not one can exist without clean water!
It is only when the well runs dry do we learn the true worth of water. Food shortage in Kenya looms as failed rains take their toll.The clouds at dawn are grey and heavy and people say, without conviction, ''Perhaps it will rain.'' Then, as the morning unfolds, the sun burns off the clouds and the frail hopes that had come with them until, by noon, the greyness has gone, like a promise betrayed by the seasons.
In Kenya, a one-time model of African development and Washington's main regional client, the year normally has two benchmarks; the short rains in October and November, and the long rains, a great deluge lasting from March through May.
This year, the long rains did not come and the skies have remained barren. Kenya thus has joined the growing list of African countries afflicted by drought, and it has done so in a way that exposes the raw nerves of the nation and illustrates the special vulnerability of countries in what is called the third world to capricious weather. Kenya has consequently produced fewer crops like coffee and maize, and along with a number of neighbouring African countries, Kenya is facing a humanitarian crisis of hunger and starvation in 2017 not seen for many years.
The very next time it rains, instead of cursing it, praise it and wish a sufficiency of it upon every nation upon earth. We inter-breathe with the rain forests, we drink from the oceans. They are part of our universal body. All life is dependent upon water. Without clean water, we cannot live ." William Forde: March 5th, 2017.
Thought for today:
"During my recent six-week stay in the hospital, because of the many blood samples I had to take daily and cannulae that needed inserting in my veins for transfusions, I was advised to drink plenty of water to enlarge my veins and thereby ease the cannula fixing. I just happen to be one of those people whose veins are deep; making a cannula difficult to insert. All of this water drinking got me to thinking about water in general and how it is so scarce and life-threatening in so many parts of the world.
Having plenty for oneself turns off instant thought to others and makes us more comfortable in distant complacency. So often, we moan about the constant rain we have here in Britain, and in doing so, we take for granted many things that we dislike and have too much of, which parts of the world would and do die for! Thousands have lived without love, but not one can exist without clean water!
It is only when the well runs dry do we learn the true worth of water. Food shortage in Kenya looms as failed rains take their toll.The clouds at dawn are grey and heavy and people say, without conviction, ''Perhaps it will rain.'' Then, as the morning unfolds, the sun burns off the clouds and the frail hopes that had come with them until, by noon, the greyness has gone, like a promise betrayed by the seasons.
In Kenya, a one-time model of African development and Washington's main regional client, the year normally has two benchmarks; the short rains in October and November, and the long rains, a great deluge lasting from March through May.
This year, the long rains did not come and the skies have remained barren. Kenya thus has joined the growing list of African countries afflicted by drought, and it has done so in a way that exposes the raw nerves of the nation and illustrates the special vulnerability of countries in what is called the third world to capricious weather. Kenya has consequently produced fewer crops like coffee and maize, and along with a number of neighbouring African countries, Kenya is facing a humanitarian crisis of hunger and starvation in 2017 not seen for many years.
The very next time it rains, instead of cursing it, praise it and wish a sufficiency of it upon every nation upon earth. We inter-breathe with the rain forests, we drink from the oceans. They are part of our universal body. All life is dependent upon water. Without clean water, we cannot live ." William Forde: March 5th, 2017.
