| One of the biggest problems people face in many parts of Africa is, drought. If the rains don't come it spells dister for communities already struggling with poverty and disease. | | | | | | "By early December I was beginning to be fearful as I looked at the maize plants in the fields wilting under the hot sun and badly in need of rain. I was afraid that the maize we had planted with such hope and expectation was going to be scorched in the same way as the crops had been in the droughts of recent years." | | | | | | | | This was the reaction of Fr. Fintan Byrne from Athlone in Co.Westmeath to the threat of drought and the implication it will have for the people of Marondera in Zimbabwe, where Fintan works. | | | | | | Fortunatley the rains came, and in fact the harvest was plentiful. The people enthusiastically celebrated with great joy and there was much singing and dancing as the harvest was gathered in. A special day was set aside for a celebration to thank God for the good harvest. Now there will be enough food for another year, until the next anxious wait for the rains. | | |
| | |  | | | | Capital | Harare | | Currency | Zim. dOLLAR | | Size | 5.5 times size of Ireland | | Population | 12,746,990 |
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| For Fintan the threat of drought and the experience of the harvest has a deeper importance. "The images of planting, growing, overcoming difficulties, forming relationships and being with people in their hardship are significant for me. I hope that the struggle for growth and that longing in all of us for fullness of life inspired by the gospel will continue to be part of my experience of mission here Zimbabwe." |
