IMAGINE in Mozambique
Annual Report 2007 – and more !

IMAGINE
In
Mozambique

(Can you IMAGINE what it feels like to receive a house which will
ensure that you and your children have somewhere safe, secure
and dry to sleep?)

Annual Report 2007- and more !

1. Introduction

Just where has the year gone ! But we are all probably saying that.

Just to be a little different this year, we thought that rather than just write about the past year (2007), this year we would expand a little and also include some details about our past three or four years since we have lived and worked in Catembe. This would allow us to explain just how the various programmes have developed (or not!) over the period and to look forward to 2008 in light of experience gathered over the past years.

First however, let us just fill you in with some information about Mozambique and about the country’s humanitarian profile. The figures presented are the best we have available at this time (UNICEF, IRIN, USAID).
In general, although there is still a long way to go before we can say that Mozambique will be “self sustainable” – the clear message is that in most humanitarian areas of concern, things are getting better. Utopia will not be achieved overnight (or in a matter of a few years) – but, thank God, we are walking along the right path and if we continue to “Imagine a better life for all – it will become”.

Population	-	19.4 million
Population growth	-	1.7%
GDP per capita	-	U$D 1,237
Rural population	-	70%
Avg, income per capita per annum	-	U$D 310
Percentage below poverty line	-	54%
Life expectancy	-	41.6 years
Life expectancy (AIDS current rate)	-	35.9 years
Under 5 mortality	-	152 per 1,000 births
Average HIV prevalence	-	16.2 %
Maputo Province HIV prevalence	-	26%
Maputo City HIV prevalence	-	23%
Literacy	-	46%
Doctor ratio	-	3 per 1,000 people
HDI Ranking	-	168 out of 177

What does this mean ?

Mozambique is still one of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Some 70% of Mozambicans live in rural areas, surviving mostly on subsistence farming. This makes the majority of the population particularly susceptible to drought or flood. Mozambique’s average income per capita is said to be U$D 310 (less than U$D 1 per day and
well below the quoted sub-Saharan average of U$D 754). About half the adult population are said to be living in poverty.

For those who are poor and vulnerable, life is aggravated by periodic drought and floods. Poverty means that families cannot quickly recover from the blow of natural disasters and debilitating illness. When combined with HIV / AIDS, poverty strikes at the most vulnerable – especially orphaned children or grandparent / mother led families.

It is estimated that near 58% of children are currently living below the poverty line.

It has been estimated that every day, some 320 children under 5 are lost to preventable or treatable diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhea.

On average, there are only 3 doctors available per 1,000 of the population.

Only 48% of births are attended by a skilled health worker.


HIV / AIDS is currently the greatest threat to Mozambique’s development. There are about 1.7 million people living with HIV / AIDS – of which 58% are women.

Of the estimated 1.6 million orphans (in 2006), more than 380,000 have lost their parents to AIDS related illnesses. As parents continue to die it is predicted that this figure will rise to 626,000 by 2010.

Only a small percentage of HIV positive women are able to receive antiretroviral drugs to reduce the risk of passing the virus to their babies.

All this tells us that there is still a long way to go – but let’s talk positives !

Mozambique continues to be a country of great potential and contrasts. It has borders with six other countries and more than 2,500 km of coastline. The population is strikingly young with approximately 10 million children accounting for over half of the population.

The country has averaged a 9% economic growth in recent years.

In the past 10 years, the proportion of Mozambicans living below the poverty line has fallen from 69% to 54%. It should also be said however that poverty reduction has not benefited everyone equally. Disparities exist in income, health, education and nutritional status as well as access to safe water and sanitation, between those living in rural areas and urban areas, between men and women, boys and girls and between those who are educated and those who are not.

National policies and legislation have been developed with key priorities with women and children in mind. Mozambique shows promise of meeting Millennium Development Goals targets (by 2015) related to poverty reduction, child mortality and maternal health.

Improved access to family planning and antenatal care, especially in rural areas, is helping save women’s lives and that of their children.

Today, Mozambican children are more likely to live beyond their 5th birthday than 10 years ago (although the mortality rate is still far too high).

And what have we (IMAGINE) been doing ?

Over 95% of our work is concentrated in Catembe. However, we still support the Mother Teresa
Sisters of course, as best we can.

In Catembe we have programmes in all five main communities, Inguide, Chamissava, Chali, Incassane (linked administratively with Djuice) and Guachene. A population census was conducted in April this year – so we will soon have a more accurate figure with regard to the numbers of families, children, orphans etc. within Catembe. This will allow the authorities to make more exact support and development plans for each community.

We continue to receive tremendous support from the various District, Municipal and Provincial authorities and have been invited to sit on the District HIV / AIDS Commission and District Development Commission.

It is encouraging to note that along with a number of other countries, Mozambique has started putting into place mechanisms to promote grassroots participation in local decision making. In Catembe, the consultative councils afford an opportunity for local authorities and community members to jointly identify community problems, prioritise them, allocate resources and implement programmes (depending of available resources of course). In general there has been a positive reaction from community members.

Mother Teresa Sisters

As usual, we begin with a short summary of the work of the Mother Teresa Sisters. Again, as usual, we find it difficult to put into words just how dedicated the Sisters are, just how much they freely give to the poorest of the poor – and just how much joy they bring to so many despite the many hardships experienced.

On average there are about 80 – 100 young children and babies in the children’s centre.
All arrive ill, many without mother and / or father but it is (and always has been) the target to reintroduce the children back into their nuclear or extended family. Many people still call the centre the “orphanage” – but this is a misuse of the term, it is a care centre for sick children with the intent of returning children to their families when well.

The attached hospice, having 40 beds for women and 40 beds for men, is always near full, many of the patients suffering from HIV / AIDS. However, it is a haven of peace.

The free primary school has been running for over a year now (having over 500 children attending) and is operating very well. You may have heard about the explosions in the military ordinance store in Zimpeto (about 2 -3 km away as the crow flies) in March 2007. This did cause some damage to the centre and in particular the school. Windows and doors were “blown in” and many of the ceiling tiles were brought down. However things were soon put right and classes were disrupted for only a short time.

During the period of the explosions, hundreds of people descended on the Sisters centre (in Hulene “B”) for safety, such was the community’s faith that the Sisters would be protected by God. Fortunately no one was hurt at the centre (only frightened, particularly the children). Sadly this was not the case for the wider community where over 100 died and many homes were destroyed.

Thankfully we are still able to use the Sister’s facilities to help the people of Catembe. Children and adults who are severely ill often spend some time there on their way to recovery – or in the more severe cases at least they are given tender, loving care in their last days.

This year the Sisters party for about 800 old people from the community was a little different. Instead of hot food, after mass and a very welcome drink, the Sisters distributed food parcels and gifts to all the visitors. The school children enjoyed a special Christmas party when the school year ended (early December). Thanks to UK donor support, IMAGINE were able to contribute towards these costs.

Gift time at Mother Teresa festa !

In Catembe Family Homes The BIG news is that the Family Homes (of Hope) in Inguide have been completed and opened. At the time of writing, two of the five homes are occupied by parents and orphaned children (we wanted to make whatever mistakes we were going to make before too many children were housed at the centre). The remaining 3 homes will be opened early in 2008. We were honored to have President Armando Guebuza visit the homes and review the IMAGINE project on 10th May. During the visit, we were asked to present a detailed overview of the entire IMAGINE programme to the President. Fortunately he speaks excellent English which saved us from making any drastic “lingua” mistakes ! The President had obviously been very well briefed and asked many pertinent questions – which, fortunately, we were able to answer to his satisfaction. President Guebuza planting a tree during his visit

Mid-way through the presentation he asked “Why are you called IMAGINE”. We explained that our philosophy was firstly to “imagine” something could be done – then to expect it to be achieved. He seemed to like the philosophy.

Later in the day we were invited to take part in a general District Community meeting, led by the President and later still to join the Presidential group for lunch. We sat with about 6 of his Ministers – all young and all speaking excellent English – we found our still non-fluent Portuguese a little embarrassing but just about held our own.

On leaving the “Ponte” for the ferry, the President called to us and said - “Keep imagining” !

We also had a number of other visitors throughout the year including the Provincial Governor, the City Director of the Ministry of Women & Social Action and the outgoing British High Commissioner. Other visitors included about 60 “street boys” from Maputo, for a joyous festa – and on another occasion roughly the same number of local children for fun, games and food. This occasion marked, yet again, victory for the ladies from IMAGINE, over the men, in a tug-of-war competition. Dare we say it– the men thought the women had the weight on their side !

The first 14 orphaned children were welcomed on 10th July – when the occasion was marked with a visit by the Mother Teresa sisters (who brought with them their Catembe children). It was amazing and gratifying to see the bonding developed by the children over the next few weeks – creating a true family spirit.

Work has started on the construction of an activity centre, to be used during daylight hours as a kindergarten and at any other time by the community in general for meetings and training. We must take time to congratulate both the Ministry of Women & Social Action and eight nominated Family Home parents for arranging (Social Action) and undertaking (parents) a six week training course. The course was held each day in Maputo, beginning at 07.00 hrs. This meant we had to collect the parents at the Family Homes (about 10km from the ferry point), at about 05.30 hrs. They returned mid to late afternoon. Despite the early and long hours, all the parents thoroughly enjoyed the entire course. Of particular interest were the sessions on child psychology and nutrition. Social Action have been asked to give an advanced course on these particular subjects – and this will be arranged for early 2008.

We have a tripartite agreement for the management and development of the homes between Social Action - legal and procedural advice, the Assembly of God Church – responsible for daily administration (via a Church appointed Administrator & his wife), and IMAGINE (centre development leading towards self sustainability).

Another aspect which we are actively involved in at the homes is the development of agricultural activities. Already over 50 fruit trees have been planted (we will be planting more trees as the centre develops) and a large tract of land has been cleared for agricultural use – by the home occupants (the children will be included in all agricultural activities) and by the local community. Our new VSO volunteer specializing in rural development (see later) is providing advice and training.

There is still quite some work to do but we continue developing the centre for the sake of the most deprived children. It was gratifying to hear the District Administrator say that the success of the centre was the responsibility of the whole community because “they after all are our children”. Meanwhile, we had a superb Christmas Day with the children and parents at the homes – presents and new clothes were very well received.	Christmas Day at the family home
Support for the Poorest Families in the Community
The children who will live at the Family Homes are those who have no other place of refuge. Where possible it is our target to maintain and keep families together within their original communities. With the partnership of Social Action, the District Administration and the various District Secretaries, we have identified many hundreds of families living in absolute dire conditions. About 80% of these families are either grandparent, mother or child led.	One of the two walled houses !
Our support takes the form of construction of houses - some families are living in conditions that would bring tears to your eyes. For example, two families we have helped this year were living in houses having just 2 walls – that’s it, no roof, nor window, nor cement floor etc. Each of these families have four children. Other areas of support include provision of food, health care, education, mosquito nets (see below), basic household fitments. Currently we support circa 240 families in this way. We cannot help all at once of course. We would love to give everyone a decent home but our available finances are limited and logistics difficult, but we do our best. To-date, in Catembe, we have built 71 houses – mostly of local material, although by using the best materials available and substantial cement foundations etc., we feel that these houses will survive (without major repair) for between 8 – 10 years. We call such homes, “emergency constructions” (meaning that life and health are dependent on providing better living conditions, particularly for the children of the families, as quickly as possible). On this point, one mother told us that since she and her family now lived in an IMAGINE built home, she had to open the door to see if it was raining – before, in her previous house (!) the rain poured through the roof and walls ! We can build such homes in about 15 days – dependent on having the necessary materials available (not always an easy process), and good weather. Whilst, by necessity, we will still continue to build “emergency constructions”, we are working towards providing more substantial, brick built homes. This will give families a longer term benefit and as “brick built” homes must be constructed on registered land (guaranteed by the District Administrator), long term security of tenure. Some years ago, Nelson Mandela said “A man is not a man unless he has a house of his own” - substitute “family” for “man” – and we can only agree. A typical emergency" home
As a point of interest, a couple of years ago we visited (whilst on a break), the Niall Mellon Township Trust programme in Hout Bay, South Africa. Niall founded and sponsored a homes building programme in one of the poorest townships in South Africa (check Niall Mellon website to understand more about this amazing initiative). The Trust contracted Impact Consulting to assess the impact of the programme and aside from the obvious benefits to families in terms of improved accommodation, they also reported a number of psychological gains and upliftment as per :- Hope, motivation, dreams come true, less stress (about safety etc.), less stressed (treating others better), children happier, able to focus on future, less tension in the house. If we are able to replicate such upliftment in Catembe, we will be well pleased.

In 2006 the production crew for the film, Blood Diamond, which was made in Maputo and the surrounding area, paid a visit to our Catembe programmes (they also visited the programmes of some other NGO’s working in the city of Maputo, including the Mother Teresa Sisters). All were deeply touched by what they saw and following their various
visits founded the “Blood Diamond Charitable Trust”. Early in 2007 we received a phone call from the locally based administrator of the Trust asking if they could help us (i.e. Catembe) by donating 1,250 mosquito nets and providing funds to build 2 local houses. We readily
accepted this support and duly received the nets and the house building funds.