As Seen Under the Bridge

I have a little feature on this blog that I call As Seen On the Bridge.  Perhaps life just slows down a bit as you cross the Kennedy Bridge or maybe it's the traffic but somehow I always seems to notice funny things happening in the midst of dodging donkey carts, motos, pedestrians and don't forget the oncoming traffic!

This post, however, is not a humourous one.  It is a serious look at why this area has been overcome by floods. 

Both pictures are taken of the same half of the bridge but the first picture was taken during a recent January.  December and January are the months in which the Niger River normally reaches it's highest levels.

- Photo Credit to Rachel VanVeen

 



This next picture was taken on Wednesday, August 22, 2012, the morning after the dikes had broken allowing the Niger River to flow on to both the CBN and Sahel Academy properties.

-Photo Credit to Ray Chamberlain

 

You can see that the water is right up to and near the middle almost engulfing some of the braces (my non-technical term) below the bridge.  According to Richelle, a coworker at Sahel, there are reports  that a dam upstream has broken and the water is expected to reach Niamey in several days.  Even continued rains could cause the waters to rise.  Continue to pray as efforts are redoubled to salvage what can be salvaged from Sahel Academy.   Pray also for the tens of thousands of Nigeriens who have lost their homes.  This includes several of the workers at our school.