On Saturday 27th October, David Cross, CAFOD’s Diocesan Manager for Middlesbrough, along with CAFOD colleagues from London, Bridget Fenwick and Patrick Murphy, departed on their visit to CAFOD funded projects in Mozambique. The aim of the visit was to see first-hand the impact that CAFOD programmes are having on improving the lives of some of the poorest people in Africa.

Mozambique is a huge country on the East coast of Africa, bordered by South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Swaziland and Zambia. Our journey took us to the capital, Maputo, in the south of the country and then a further 2000 kms to the smaller city of Lichinga in northern Niassa Province. This was to be the central point for our visit. We were greeted by the CAFOD Mozambique team and introduced to the people who would accompany us for the next two weeks.

During this time we visited a number of different CAFOD funded projects ranging from advocacy work helping rural farmers secure their land rights, to projects training volunteers in how to deliver home based care to people suffering from HIV/AIDS. Mozambique has a population of around 19 million people. Nearly 80% of Mozambicans live in rural areas where clean water, education and health services are limited. Most of the rural population survives on small scale subsistence farming. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world, with infant and maternal mortality rates at the extremely high levels of 101 per 1000 and 100 per 100,000 respectively. Life expectancy and living conditions are deteriorating because of the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS which affects around 17% of 15-49 year olds. It is estimated that more than one million people died from AIDS by 2005. There will be over one million AIDS orphans by 2008 and the country will have lost 20% of its agricultural labour force by 2020. There are very few roads. Most are dirt tracks which carry anything from bicycles to huge container trucks.

Mozambique was a Portuguese colony until independence in 1975. Colonial rule was characterised by a lack of investment and exploitative labour practices. The war which brought independence was soon followed by a bitter civil war between 1977 and 1992 resulting in an estimated one million deaths, massive population displacement, the destruction of infrastructure and widespread economic and social hardship. A peace accord was signed in 1992 between the warring factions. Mozambique’s first multi-party elections were held in 1994.

CAFOD has been working in Mozambique since 1983. Its original focus concentrated on emergency relief for displaced people during the war in the northern towns of Pemba, Nampula, Nacala, Lichinga and Tete. Following the signing of the peace accord the need for rehabilitation and development work became a priority. CAFOD’s work currently involves three main areas:

Sustainable Livelihoods

Assisting partners to develop sustainable livelihoods that consider the environment and the needs of future generations, while generating a sufficient income for people’s current needs. Specific emphasis is being placed on;

• food security (sufficient and reliable supply of food)
• vulnerability reduction (looking at risks facing poor people and how they might deal with them, such as crop disease, natural disasters, HIV/AIDS)
• environmental improvement (helping people to manage resources such as forests or water better)
• improving access to clean water and sanitation
• raising living standards of disadvantaged rural communities using rights based approaches (eg teaching people about laws, policies and their rights and entitlements)

HIV and AIDS

Increase awareness about the impact of HIV and AIDS through supporting initiatives of the Catholic Church in developing a co-ordinated national, provincial and local response in providing care, support, prevention and advocacy concerning HIV and AIDS. CAFOD’s work also takes into account gender issues and insists that its programmes strive to build equality between men and women and the inclusion of marginalized groups.

Civil Society

CAFOD is helping to build the capacity of disadvantaged communities so that they will be able to effectively influence local, national and international decision-makers ensuring that the interests, needs and rights of such communities are recognised, thus creating a more just society in Mozambique.

Daily Life in Mozambique

For many of the people we visited, daily life is characterised by a continuous struggle for the basic things we take for granted. In the village of Berru, people told us how the women and children have to walk five miles every day just to get their water while the men work in the fields from sunrise to sunset. In Meponda on the shores of lake Niassa, we were shown the efforts made by the community to provide themselves with a steady supply of good quality, nutritious food using the skills and training provided by CAFOD partners. We could readily see the difference this was making to the health and wellbeing of the villagers. HIV and AIDS is also a large problem in Meponda and CAFOD funds have provided the training for volunteers to deliver home based care to AIDS sufferers. Such care is vital as the nearest hospital is something like 100 kilometres away by a dirt track road going deep through the African bush.

One of the things we became acutely aware of was our own vulnerability. Should we have an accident or some other mishap, we were hours and hours away from medical help. There are few doctors in Mozambique and most of these are based in the capital Maputo. It made me think about what happens if someone has an accident with, for example, a machete while doing his or her daily work or if a person falls and breaks a limb. The answer is quite simple, they end up disabled or worse, die as a result. There are some small health posts scattered around but these are usually run by a volunteer who mainly provides first aid and health advice. Most of the health posts we visited proudly showed us their maternity suite, a small room with a curtain across the doorway and a bed for the woman to lay on with one or two of the basic necessities required to assist at child birth. There were no sterile gowns, modern drugs or painkillers but at least the mother and baby would have someone on hand who knew what to do during the birth. With Christmas not far away my mind turned to thinking that this is about as close as I may ever come to what it must have been like when Jesus was born. For these poor people much may have happened but little has changed.

In Lichinga, the Diocesan Health Commission took us to visit some people living with HIV and AIDS. I visited a 21 year old woman called Joanna who was being cared for by her mother with the help of a home based carer whose training had been provided by CAFOD funding. Joanna and her mother live in a small single room, mud brick and thatch hut. Her mother cooks their meagre meal of green leaves on a small, open, wood fire outside. There is no running water, their toilet is a pit latrine. This family are living in absolute poverty. Joanna became sick in November 2006 and has been bedridden for three months. Anna, Joanna’s carer, told us that malnutrition and poverty are making Joanna’s illness worse. Although Joanna is taking anti retroviral drugs to combat the AIDS virus, these drugs are not having the effect that they could have. For them to be effective the patient needs a good nutritious diet. The Health Commission helps by providing a nutritious flour that can be mixed into a porridge or bread. There is not a day goes by that I do not think about Joanna and her mother. I wonder how Joanna is doing. I ask myself ‘Is she still alive? She was so thin and frail when I saw her’.

During my prayer time on an evening I found myself saying to God ‘Where are you? How can you let your little ones suffer so’? As our visit progressed I think the answers to my questions emerged. They weren’t easy answers to accept. I feel that God is there in the struggle of these people and can be seen in their resolve to try to do something about their own plight. And God’s presence is here motivating people at home to give generously to help the plight of people like those in Mozambique and all over the world. The Mozambicans we met seemed to accept that they have to find their own answers to poverty and the daily struggles of their brothers and sisters and are grateful for any help that we can offer. Everywhere we went people said ‘Please say thank you to all those people who help us. Because of their help we can provide food, education and healthcare to at least some of our people. Their help is making a big difference’. During our visit we met Bishop Hilario (Bishop of Lichinga), Chair of Caritas Mozambique. He said ‘The work of Caritas and CAFOD is the open hand of God’.

If I ever had any doubts about the importance and effectiveness of CAFOD’s overseas work, these were totally dispelled during my two weeks in Mozambique. A very big thank you to all of you in our diocese who give so generously to CAFOD.

David is willing to visit parishes to talk about his visit to Mozambique – tel†(01904) 671767 or email: < href="mailto:dcross@cafod.org.uk">dcross@cafod.org.uk

CAFOD’s Lent Fast Day is Friday 15th February – Please give generously.

Come and join us for ‘A Day With CAFOD’ from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at the Endsleigh Centre, Hull on Saturday 16th February or at Ss Leonard and Mary Parish Centre, Malton on Saturday 8th March. For further details and to book your place contact the CAFOD Diocesan Office on the above telephone number or email address.