Things really haven’t started well in regard to this year’s rainy season. First, it was a bit late, because even here climate change is taking its toll, and then it arranged an unpleasant surprise for us as well! Wednesday we were hit by a real hailstorm, which cannot be compared to anything Rwandese have lived to witness so far. Even I don’t recall something like this taking place in Africa, and I’ve been here for twenty-one years already.

Hail poured down on all of Kivumu. In just half an hour, the ground was covered with several centimetres of it. And four hours later, which can be seen on the photos, everything was still white because of the huge amount of ice that had fallen!

Our fellow-villagers now have to deal with the damage that was done, and it isn’t small at all. All crops were destroyed. Just when they were preparing to harvest different fruits and vegetables, the hail had to destroy it all. It will take a lot of time to repair the damage. Unfortunately, many will once more remain hungry, because they have lost the little they had...

At CFJ Padri Vjeko School, thirty meters of gutters and drainpipes were destroyed. We’re going to fix that with the help of our students. We still have to see if our solar panels have suffered damaged as well. They are of great importance to us because they are the source of the so much needed electricity we use to stay in touch with the outside world.

Translated by: Fra Branimir Mlakić
Edited by: Valerie Kae Ken