We called our staff to a meeting the next day after breakfast. Our agenda was to evaluate how far we had come, and see what else we could do to improve our tactics and curb desertification.
"You know, it hasn't even been half a year," Matano said and looked my way, "and we already have a very different Bir Tawil thanks to our group leader."
"Everybody put in their best efforts, but we can't stop now. Already, a few of you will be returning to Kenya, so that the other half of our team can come and take over. I will have Mercy here with me for a while," I told them as I smiled at the resourceful young woman.
"Isn't Richard returning?"
"He wasn't too sure. They were handling a project that would reduce the negative effects of flooding in the lower Tana region," I said while smiling at the group. "I think he is wrapping up on it with Dr. Guyo?"
Mercy's smile died. Dr. Guyo was Richard's ex. I think everyone saw how miserable she looked and quickly moved to comfort her.
While our intern was the cutest, she was also a deep well of information. I felt blessed to have her with me, and thought of insisting on her retention once her internship ran its course.
She tried to act like it didn't bother her, but it really did. Those wide eyes couldn't hide anything from me. I resolved to make her some hibiscus tea after our meeting.
The rest of the meeting went pretty well. The members all chipped in and gave their ideas on what to improve and what to do about the change in weather. We didn't know whether to buy the locals' tales about the rain coming, or to ignore them.
"You set up the cameras at strategic points we had identified a few months ago, right? Places that looked like valleys, right? So, let's wait and see. If the water comes, we are ready. If not... Well, tough luck," Sandra said as she plopped down in one of our empty seats.
"What are you doing here? Weren't you working on enough anti-venom stuff?"
"Ah. I heard what you guys were talking about, so I decided to step in and listen. Plus, the medical unit is boring this time of day. Can't I listen to you guys mention fancy terms and try to float?"
We all looked at her before I spoke. "Give us a cool idea then you can stay," I said and winked at her. She laughed before turning to face everyone.
"The trees are doing well, so are the food crops we planted. How about we planted some more legumes next time? And flowers? Won't it look pretty?"
We exchanged looks. Well, that wasn't so badly off, was it?
°|°•°•°•°•|•
As Sandra and Mercy had expected, the water from Lake Nasser flowed into Bir Tawil. For a short while, everything seemed to flourish in the areas the water touched. We took that opportunity to dig deeper canals through the tree planting grounds, and thoroughly collected as much fertile soil as we could get from the turbid water.
The trees we had planted a few days back had started to look stronger. We hoped that we would be able to retain about ninety five percent of them, so we took extra care of the weak looking ones as we planted more trees in the open spaces.
The mountains didn't stop us from working. We worked hard to plant trees in those areas too, seeing as a shade would be welcome in that region.
The flood waters were with us for close to a month and a half. The team worked hard, and the ones who came to fill on when they went for break worked as hard as them, if not double.
Before I could forget my duties, I received another batch of little seedlings from Dr. Ban. He had them sent in from a reclamation and afforestation project for the Gobi Desert. These trees would grow quickly and provide great shade for us all.
I couldn't help smiling at that. He was all the way in China but all he thought about was my project's success. If that wasn't nicer than my dad, then I didn't know what could be.
My little brother sent in some ornamental trees that I wasn't too sure on what to do with them, but chose to plant them in a sheltered part of the desert, near the few solitary existing trees we found when we came, and near the mountains.
We had another meeting set up with the new members about something Mercy and I had been thinking about. We had seen an old rock catchment video in my laptop when we were watching a movie a few days back, and wanted to bring the idea forth.
"Rock catchment? Like the ones in Ukambani?" Timothy asked. He was actually a local from the said Ukambani territory back in Kenya. "Will it work? How much rain does this area receive? Has it rained yet...?"
"Well... Not yet-"
"Then don't do it," Zola said. She was very quick to shut down ideas before they blossomed.
"At this point, you can see that we have actually done something for Bir Tawil," I told the members. "We took risks, and we need to keep at it. We came all the way here. We don't have anything to lose."
The room was silent for close to a minute before Mercy's voice was heard. "We should at least try, right? We thought the fog nets would be a flop, but we still took that chance. Now we have water for our plants and we have created our own stable microclimate all based on dew and whatever little water the atmosphere has. We should try this too."
"So... When will it rain?"
"The locals from either side say soon, but... We haven't a clue yet."
YOU ARE READING
The Republic of ARMY
FanfictionI always lived for the moments my father would tell me I could not do something... then I would go ahead and do it. That had been my entire life. Maybe he was just really angry at me. Or maybe he just hated having a daughter who didn't measure up...
