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.