もう八月！ August already!

　北半球は酷暑の極みでしょうか。こちらは赤道直下ですが、雨期、晴れればアッツ～ですが、曇れば涼しく、朝夕は毛布が必要…。オリンピックや夏休みで航空券が取りにくくなる前に―とバタバタとこちらに来ましたが、Ｋ‘laのGHの片隅に預け（置きっぱなし！）ていた老朽クルマを復活させるのに、2週間近くかかり、ようやくKtgに帰り着き、テンヤワンヤを片付け、この日曜日、一般ユーザーに向け再開館できました！
　The northern hemisphere is baking in intense heat. We are at the Equator here, and when the skies are clear during the rainy season, it is hot! But when it’s cloudy, it is cool and you need a blanket in the morning and evening. We hastily returned before the Olympics and summer vacation, when it would have been difficult to get plane tickets. But it took us almost two weeks to revive our old car, which we had left (unattended) at the guesthouse in Kampala. Once we finally got back to Kitgum, we had to do a lot of clean-up. This Sunday we finally reopened the library to regular patrons.

旧図書館、またしてもシロアリにやられてしまいました!　コロナによる不測の長期休館とは違い、休館前に防除液を撒くなど対策していたのですが…。アフリカのシロアリは、手強し!!

The old library is infested with termites again! Unlike with the unforeseen lengthy closure of the library as a result of the pandemic, we sprayed insecticide there before closing up, but African termites are formidable!

段ボールを一箱ずつ開け一冊ずつ、棚からも一冊ずつ手に取り、ページを繰り被害を確認。まだ、まだ、時間のある時少しずつ片付けるしかない、という状況です。
 Books are removed one at a time from boxes as they are opened and taken down from the shelves one at a time as well. Then we flip through the pages, checking for damage. This can only be done little by little, whenever we have time.

 もう20年以上前、この旧図書館での活動開始時に作って利用してきた書棚がご覧の通りの有様!　右半分は切断するしかないか、と話しています。 We began operating the old library more than 20 years ago, and this is what the book shelves we made then look like now. We figure we may have no choice but to cut off the right half.

周囲一面、雑草、雑草、雑草の海…。ヘビ（UGのヘビは全て毒蛇！）などの怖れがあるので早速、草刈り業者を依頼しました。しかし、この中でも、新館竣工時、亀田大使がお手植えの木はグングン成長中!!
A sea of weeds surrounds the library. There is a risk of encountering snakes (all snakes in Uganda are poisonous), so we immediately hired a contractor to cut back the weeds. Amid all the weeds, the tree planted by Kameda Kazuaki, Japanese ambassador to Uganda at the time of the handover ceremony for the new library, is growing rapidly.

雑草、植込みを低く刈り込むと、改装なった図書館のペンキの色も一層鮮やかにみえます！　作業中、2名が、営巣中、子育て中だったWASP大型のハチ（スズメバチ？）に刺されてしまいました!!　応急処置で、大過無し、ヤレヤレ。　Once the weeds and other bushes were cut back, the paint on the renovated library looked brighter. Two of the workers were stung by large wasps (hornets?) that were building a nest for their young. First aid was administered and, fortunately, it was not serious.

刈り込んだ草、植木の始末も重労働!　まだまだ数日かかりそうです。
Disposing of the weeds and plants that have been cut down is also a big job. It will take several more days.

支援子供の内、近隣の11名が集まりました!　中・高学年生は、例によって、全員対象の補習授業で学校へ、遠くの子はモチロン来られませんが、皆元気！！
Of the children supported by the library, eleven who live nearby got together. As usual, all of the higher classes at primary school and high school students had to go to school for supplementary classes, and, naturally, the students who live far away couldn’t come. But they are all well.

剥がれ落ちかかっていた天井も、どこが、その箇所だったか分からないほどすっかりきれいになりました！
The ceiling looks so good now that it’s impossible to tell where it was about to fall in.

今回帰着後一番驚いたのは、“根なしカズラ”とかいう寄生植物の大繁茂！　植木や草花に絡みつき樹液を吸って草木を枯らします。植込み中にはびこっていて、毎日毎日採っても採っても、出てきます！　詳しい人に相談しても、根絶するには、周辺一帯の植物を全て焼き払うしかない、と。
シロアリ、ヘビ、ハチ、そしてコレ、アフリカの生き物は生命力旺盛です！
何かアイディアをお持ちの方、是非、お知恵拝借させて下さい！！！　
What most surprised us after returning this time was the proliferation of dodder, a parasitic plant. It entangles itself with plants and flowers and kills them by sucking their sap. It grows thick among the plants, and even if you pull it out every day, it keeps coming back. We consulted an expert who said the only way to completely eradicate it is to burn off all the plants in the entire area. Termites, snakes, wasps, this plant – the living things of Africa are vigorous! If anyone has any suggestions, please let us know.

ようやく図書館再開！　いつも長期休館のあとは、来館者が少ないのですが、この日曜日は、雨模様のお天気のわりに、70名超の来館者で賑わいました！　
The library finally reopens! Whenever we reopen after a long break, there are few patrons. But this Sunday, despite the rainy weather, the library was crowded with more than 70 patrons.　
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