I woke up yesterday morning at about 5:00 AM. It was raining. When we walked out of our apartment at about 8:00 AM we were shocked!! The parking area was totally under water!
We determined that if we took a giant step we could get onto the running board and then into our truck. Since the driver’s side is on the far side of the truck from where we were, Hal crawled in first and then over the console into the driver's seat. It was a stretch but I also managed to make that giant step.
We thought we were ready....
...until we realized that we had left the keys in the door!!! So I had to climb back out, get the keys and climb back in!!! We got a good laugh at that!
Looking into our apartment area from the gate! Our place is on the far end at the bottom. The entire parking area was under water.
Here you can see that even the grassy area along side of the building was inundated, as well.
In the past, this area just outside our gate is often covered in water when it rains. Today, however, it was farther out into the road. And then we turned the corner....
...and the street we usually go down was covered with water. The farther down the road we went the deeper the water. Nothing so deep that we couldn't drive through though. This guy was carrying an umbrella and his shoes.
These lovely ladies simply took off their shoes, hiked up their skirts and waded through! They were just laughing and as we slowly passed them they called out, "Welcome to Zambia!!"
This road we were able to drive down but another road we take was completely flooded and cars were backed up for a long way. So we took a different route to work. I would have liked to have seen what the road there looked like.
Hal had gone home at some point during the day and he said a lot of people were pumping water from the street back into the ditches. I don't quite understand that because the ditches were already full!
This morning we were talking to one of the maids for the other apartments and she was telling us that in the apartment where she works the drains had all backed up into the house. The bathtub, the toilet, etc. I feel so bad for her because she had to clean everything up! She said she was so tired when she finally got home last night!!! She really is not treated well! Sometimes, when we have some extra cookies we will take them out to her. One day we brought out some chairs so they (she and another maid) would have a place to sit when they ate their lunch, instead of the hard tile. They are not allowed to sit inside or use a microwave or stove to heat anything up. Even though the family has a washing machine, she has to do all the laundry by hand! She works 6 days a week, at least 12 hours a day and then has to walk home. Oreen, (that is her name) said she has to get up at 4:30 in the morning so she can be to work by 6:00 AM. She walks; it takes her an hour or so. She would really like to find a different job but she has three children and a mother to support and no time to find other work.
Unemployment here is at about 13.03% according to the internet, but I am sure it actually is much higher if calculated on overall population. That 13% is based on those seeking employment. So many just simply do not have jobs.
We were extremely blessed that our apartment did not flood!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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