What more fun could one have?

Mozambique Diary - Day 18

Sand dams! Usually we think of dams filled with water but in Tete Province of Mozambique we are building dams with the express purpose of having them fill with sand. So what about that?

Given the very hot climate and limited water most rivers are intermittent in nature and water tables very low. Crops can often not be grown and women and children have to walk many kilometres for water - one community could find water only 20 kilometers away from their home.

One very unique approach has been to build dams that over time fill up with sand. During the annual rainy season, as the water is slowed by the dam, the suspended sand quickly drops filling up the area behind the concrete barrier. Within 1-3 seasons, depending on the rainfall and the particular geologic formation the sand will accumulate up to 800 metres behind the dam.  This sand now holds the water and instead of rushing off or evaporating, it sinks into the soil and repletes the water table. Once established the dam will provide most communities with water year round instead of only 2-3 months.

Cattle are a big reason the farmers initially seek water sources. Cattle have been their primary food source and water is critical to their well being. Once they see that water is available the idea of gardening and crop production also becomes an option. Our engineers and agriculturalists together with our partners staff work closely with communities to define appropriate sites that meet both engineering and community expectations. The community then engages in the building of the dam by providing labor and local resources.

MCC supplies cement and other essential components of the project as well as supporting the salaries and training of local staff. The goal is to establish a national capacity that will enable our partners to resource communities throughout the country.                                                           

You will notice in the picture on the right that upstream from the dam there are garden plots. Farmers are now able to plant vegetables and fruit trees to supplement their diets and provide additional income when sold at local markets. Watering holes can be dug for cattle and on the sides of the sand wells can be dug for potable water.

It is indeed exciting to see seedlings push forth from the ground where before this was not a possibility. Agricultural best practices are introduced as part of the overall program.

The work is transforming communities. Men do now not have to leave to find work. Women and children do not have to carry water great distances. Children are freed up to go to school.


Mozambique Diary: Day 15

Today we are to visit one of the thirteen pre-schools MCC is supporting through a grant to the Anglican Church Rural Education project. About six hours after leaving Beira in a Toyota Hilux 4WD we turn off the main road and stop in front of the local District office. Several local officials join us and before long we have turned onto a foot path that leads us through fields, over stumps and rocks and between lush maize crops. Slowly we inch our way forward zigging and zagging around obstacles until a pounding on the roof calls for a stop.  We have taken a wrong turn about 20 minutes into the drive. Quickly the four men in the back jump out and move to a place where there is cellphone reception and animatedly discuss our situation and where we went wrong.

After about 5 minutes of discussion our location and direction is figured out and we are told to turn around (no small feat on a footpath with trees and stumps all around) and return to the village. Eventually we turn onto the 'right' path and continue on our journey. It is evident that the community has prepared for us.  Before long a 'runner' appears and guides us through the terrain. Soon we come to the bridge across the stream they have built for our arrival. The poles and sand bags hold and we slowly move across.

 Upon arrival we are greeted with a throng of children and adults - all who have been waiting for our arrival. It is time to celebrate the work that has been accomplished. Children who have never held a crayon or likely seen a book have been introduced to the world of creative education. They are preparing for a future that will be more promising than what they are currently experiencing. Introductions and song fill our ears for quite some time.

Before we hear their stories we are invited to an hour and a half trek to see the 'shamba' (garden) which provides both food for the children and financial resources to the pre-school. The sorghum and millet towers above our heads (approx 12 feet) as we wend our way to the farm. The community looks after the farm - but only after their own crops are attended to. On the way back from this 'venture' it is the MCC Rep who leads the way through the swamps and tall grass...

Now it is time to hear the stories of the people - how this creche came to be, how it has impacted their children, why it is important, and even to hear some complaints. Many voices speak out - both men and women.  The people are thankful and satisfied with what has been happening and committed to ensuring that this school goes forward.

After an hour or so the group is dismissed and we are brought a basin and towel - to wash up for a dinner of chicken, shima and rice. While people are visiting I slip out to take pictures of the children. Their two male teachers are teaching them learning songs. They sing and dance and clap. It is a delightful sight and my heart is warmed to know that these twenty seven young children will have a chance, a chance to get an better education for having been part of this pre-school.  Before long we leave the school site with provisions for the journey of sugar cane and cassava, and we go with hope!



Mozambique Diary: Days 1-9

 On an annual basis we visit all MCC programs in southern Africa to ascertain effectiveness, engage in strategic planning and resource the MCC team. Recently we made such a trip to Mozambique. Our LAM (late & maybe) flight took us from Johannesburg to the port city of Beira - situated on the Indian ocean.  This is where the MCC Mozambique offices are located. The initial days were spent in financial monitoring exercises at the MCC office and testing institutional strength - ie how closely does the program follow organizational operating principles.

Following that we participated in the semi-annual regional leadership meetings with MCC leadership from Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa/Lesotho/Swaziland, Mozambique and the Regional Peace Advisor. These meetings went over four days and included training seminars, reporting and coordinating activity across the region as well as renewal and inspiration. Youngson, a Malawian missionary to the Anabaptist churches in Mozambique, presented us with dynamic and challenging meditations on a daily basis.

After the Reps had all departed we travelled west and then south along the N1 - Mozambiques main road artery. The first hours were a bit of a challenge as the road is more potholed than tarmac. It was not unusual to see vehicles zig-zagging back and forth as they sought the least difficult part of the road to cross. Sometimes one had to literally drive into and out of the potholes. After about 2 hours of this we arrived at the crossroads of Inchope. There we hit good road and headed south. Along the way there were many opportunities to stop and purchase cashews from young entrepeneurs wanting to make a few Metical. Our ultimate destination was Machanga (4 hours south of Inchope and then 50 kms off the main road) where MCC has placed a YAMEN! participant.

The United Church of Christ in Mozambique runs a girls dorm at Machanga to allow young women the opportunity to study. Approximately 45-50 young women avail themselves of this opportunity and are resident at the centre. They attend a nearby government school. The YAMEN!er among them provides support and engages them in a variety of educational activities. She also functions as one of three matrons looking after the girls. One day as we arrived at the centre we saw the girls huddled around a big basin. Walking over we discovered they were cleaning 'capenta' a local fish for dinner. It was a joy to behold the enthusiasm and energy of these high school girls and to know that this program was providing them the potential to branch into new opportunities that would otherwise not be possible. Many of these young girls would likely be otherwise married off at an early age by their parents. One night they sang and danced for us as we sat in the dark but under a dazzling array of stars with both the 'Southern Cross' and 'Orion' in clear view. It was a moment to remember.

The next day we visited a new school and girls dorm/centre being built by MCC supporters from southern Manitoba. The current location of the school and centre is prone to flooding and the government wants to move the current community to a new location (about 10km away). While this will all take some time the school is almost ready (projected use is January 2013). The new girls dorm is also well underway and will provide a much better accommodation. Education is a significant component of MCC programming in Mozambique and in addition to Machanga we are assisting with another school project in Zove, a vocational school in Muxungue, a pre-school in Beira and have an extensive program of pre-schools in another area of the country - but that is for another page in the diary.

Cahora Bassa

Cahora Bassa is Africa's fourth largest artificial lake situated in the province of Tete, Mozambique. We had opportunity to visit this site on a recent administrative trip to Mozambique. More stories will come from that visit. Following is a brief description of the Cahora Bassa dam and lake and its dynamic history (taken from Wikipedia)

"The Cahora Bassa System started in the late 1960s as a project of the Portuguese in the Overseas Province of Mozambique. South African Governments were also involved in an agreement stating that Portugal would build and operate a hydroelectric generating station at Cahora Bassa together with the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system required to bring electricity to the border of South Africa. South Africa, on the other hand, undertook to build and operate the Apollo converter station and part of the transmission system required to bring the electricity from the South African/Mozambican border to the Apollo converter station near Midrand. South Africa was then obliged to buy electricity that Portugal was obliged to supply.

During its construction, the dam site was repeatedly attacked without success by Frelimo guerrilla insurgents in an attempt to sabotage the project. Portugal increased popular support in Mozambique with this and other development works (see Mozambican War of Independence). The dam began to fill in December 1974.

Until 2007 the dam was operated by Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa and jointly owned by Mozambique, with an 18% equity stake, and Portugal, which held the remaining 82% equity. On November 27, 2007 Mozambique assumed control of the dam from Portugal.^[1] In 2007, Portugal sold to Mozambique most of its 82 percent stake in the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power facility in the Southeast African country. Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said Portugal would collect US$950 million (€750 million) from the sale of its part of southern Africa's largest hydropower project. Portugal keeps a 15 percent stake in Cahora Bassa, though it planned to sell off another 10 percent at a later stage to an investor that would be proposed by the Mozambican government. Portugal's Prime Minister José Sócratessigned the agreement with the Mozambican government, during an official visit to Maputo. The agreement ended decades of dispute between Portugal and its former territory in East Africa over the company, called Hidroelectrica Cahora Bassa. The central disagreement was over the handling of the company's estimated US$2.2 billion (€1.7 billion) debts to Portugal. Mozambican authorities argued they had not guaranteed the debt and therefore should not be liable for the payments."

Some Easter Breakfast Reflections

Paska (a Russian Mennonite Easter bread), eggs from South Africa, and fresh Zambian Munali coffee in a Bolivian pottery mug. Now that was a delightful global breakfast - eaten basking in the warmth of an April sun on a stoep in Johannesburg earlier today!

More so it speaks to the globally interconnected reality we all live in. If I had added sugar (which I don't put in coffee) it could likely have come from the Philippines.

In many ways this reflects the mutuality of our existence. We all depend on each other for the essential things of life - even when we are not aware of it. Too often we ignore the persons at the other end of the link and assume we are independent and can manage just fine on our own. When this happens we also usually don't acknowledge the importance of equity and justice in the economic equation that keeps this interaction going. Without that many do not have adequate resources for their survival. Without equity and justice we cannot create a sustainable peace.


So we need each other - our mutual existence depends on giving and receiving. Henri Nouwen speaks to one aspect of this in his Daybook, Bread for the Journey: “Nobody is so poor that he or she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he or she has nothing to receive.” These words by Pope John Paul II offer a powerful direction for all who want to work for peace. No peace is thinkable as long as the world remains divided into two groups: those who give and those who receive. Real human dignity is found in giving as well as receiving. This is true not only for individuals but for nations, cultures, and religious communities as well. A true vision of peace sees a continuous mutuality between giving and receiving. Let’s never give anything without asking ourselves what we are receiving from those to whom we give, and let’s never receive anything without asking what we have to give to those from whom we receive.

Nouwen, Henri J. M. (2009-03-17). Bread for the Journey:  April 2, A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith. Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Rags to Riches - a true story

“Mustard seed” grows into thrift shop network that has generated $167 M for MCC"

ALTONA, Man.— Forty years ago, four women in this southern Manitoba community opened a thrift shop to raise funds for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). It was the beginning of a network that has grown to 56 shops in Canada, 57 in the U.S. and has generated contributions totalling $167 million for the work of MCC.

“This is unbelievable—our mustard seed has turned into a big tree and it is still growing,”   exclaimed Linie Friesen, 90, one of the founders of the Altona shop which opened March 17, 1972. Friesen, who was a regular volunteer at the shop until a year ago, said the seemingly insignificant beginnings of MCC thrift shops and the steady growth reminds her of how the blessings of God can turn small contributions into miraculous growth. “I think it has grown beyond our wildest dreams and hopes,” she said. “The Lord has blessed our efforts. It is just a remarkable thing.”

MCC’s thrift shop network will celebrate this 40-year milestone at a conference in Archbold, Ohio, May 7 – 10. This conference, which takes place every four years, brings together delegates from both Canada and the U.S.

Reflecting on the early years, Friesen recalled her friend, Selma Loewen, who had attended the MCC Manitoba annual meeting in February, 1972. There Loewen had heard John Hostetler--director of MCC’s material resources program at the time--report that MCC was reducing shipments of used clothing for overseas distribution. 

Hostetler had also made the now legendary statement:  ‘What we need is a machine that will turn clothing into cash.’ Within a few days of the February meeting, Loewen had invited Friesen and two other friends, Sara Stoesz and Susan Giesbrecht, to her home where they discussed the idea of selling used goods locally and donating the proceeds to MCC. 

Friesen said the women’s groups contributed $125 to cover the first month rent of the shop, known back then as the Altona Community Self Help Centre. One month later, a thrift shop opened in Steinbach and later in the year, two shops opened in Winnipeg. These four shops contributed $6,300 to MCC in 1972. The remarkable success of the four thrift shops inspired people from Mennonite churches in other Manitoba communities to open thrift shops. In 1974, thrift shops opened in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Bluffton, Ohio. 

In the early years, most shops were started and administered by women, but it didn’t take too long before men became involved in the shops, said Friesen.  Thrift shops not only generate funds for MCC, they are also an integral part of local communities, said Stoesz, 81, who still spends two hours almost every day to sort and price items.  The many benefits include the availability of affordable goods, reusing and recycling, and meaningful opportunities for people to get to know each other and contribute to worthwhile causes. “I have made a lot of friends here I didn’t know before,” said Stoesz. “It is very enriching to volunteer at a MCC thrift shop.  It is fulfilling because it is helping others—at home and overseas.”

People donating items to MCC thrift shops, buying items or volunteering may feel their contributions are inconsequential. But Friesen emphasized that the success of MCC shops demonstrate that collectively these efforts make a difference in local communities and around the world.  “When we work together we can help others,” said Friesen. “Every little bit counts—it all adds up. We can’t all be overseas workers for MCC but we can all help MCC.”

Last year, the shops in Canada contributed $7.2 million to MCC.

Written by Gladys Terichow (MCC Canada - April 3, 2012)