One week in Mozambique

Yes, it has indeed been one week already, and what a week it has been. So much has been accomplished this week, I am not sure I will be able to make it to the end of two months! I can share with you now why I am really here, because I think I am beginning to know myself...

FHI implemented three relief programs in Caia District.The first, under the direction of a Mozambique staff member, is the coordinated distribution of foord provided by the World Food program, for people who have been relocated. This has gone exceptionally well, and is wrapping up next week.





The second, run by a Kenyan water technician, is the provision of water and latrines for people who have been relocated. This project has provided more than 80 latrines, done hygiene and sanitation education in resettlement areas, and will start digging new wells next week. We have succeeded in extending this program for another month.


The third program, run by an FHI American staffer who usually works in Bolivia, is a nutritional surveillance program which checks children for malnutrition. This program is exciting because the local staff trained to do this are already working in local communities, and will be able to continue with this training long after the emergency has passed.

After days of meetings, working out deals, firming up negotiations, I spent Saturday visiting our project sites.

This involved over 8 hours of driving through the day, but was well worth it to get a visual connection with the work.

That's it for this week, except for two more things - on Friday I was able to share a pleasant reunion with my old friend and co-worker from Vietnam, Scott Barton. Scott was sent with the Samaritan's Purse water response team and had no idea I was here, although I had heard he was here. We only had time for a quick hello, shared a Coke, and said farewell, as he was on his way out of the country. It was definitely a good time of reminiscing, while others watched with curiosity. It's not often you meet an old friend in rural Mozambique...

The second thing was my church visit this morning. As I had mentioned earlier, there are very few Christians in Mozambique, and this is evidenced in Caia. Most business is as usual here, but we visited a small church where one of our colleagues with FHI is the lay pastor, and had a great time listening to an exciting (and relatively short) sermon, with all the foot-stomping, amen-calling and arm-waving necessary to ensure engagement of the audience.

That's really it for now, and with current internet status, I will be down to one post per week from now on, hopefully on Sundays, but personal emails ARE BEING RESPONDED TO on a daily basis.