Next Phase – Seed for planting

We are moving into the next stage in our relief work in Mozambique. The soup kitchens are winding down and will soon no longer be necessary. Thank you to all who donated.

The next phase is to provide seed to the people so that they can plant the crops they lost. Through providing seed we hope to enable the affected communities to once again become self sufficient. Any donations towards seed purchases are welcome.

Lennit and Janine have just returned from Mozambique after assisting with the initial relief work. This is what they had to say…

On Thursday, 1st March 2007 cyclone Favio raged through the town of Vilanculos, Mozambique at 240 km/h. It devasted everything in its’ path with no mercy for the poor, aged or sick. When 3D arrived there on the Saturday, the town was imbued with a defeaning silence as people foragedthrough what was left of their homes. Trees had been uprooted, brick houses and steel structures demolished and mangled. As we drove through the town, we could only stare in horror at what used to be a flourishing community.

Vilanculos is in Inhambanebe, one of the poorest provinces of Mozambique. It is about 800 km north from Mozambique’s capital, Maputo. It is estimated that Favio left 30 000 people without homes, but also without crops for food. We began to communicate with local church leaders in order to establish where the best places for ‘soup kitchens’ would be. With the help of Simaen and Manual (two highly efficient locals) we established five ‘soup kitchens’ of up to 400 people each, with a three-phase plan in mind. In phase one we would provide food, phase two would entail bringing in seeds and in phase three we would hand over to local leaders and missionaries.

We also joined forces with an Australian team and embarked on a clean-up operation using rakes, saws, machetes and brute strength to try and clear away the debris from people’s homes. Furthermore, we were able to put together kits consisting of enough building material for a local house. We decided to give these kits to the elderly and widowed and worked towards having a team of locals building these homes. This building project will be running for the next two months.

God connected us with some awesome local missionaries of whom one is an American youngster, named Luke, who has been there for three years. He has an incredible relationship with the locals and is working on a project called “Talking Bibles”. We were also able to raise enough funds to support the cyclone relief project efficiently and we thank God for the people who gave generously in this respect.

What is happening right now in Mozambique?

3D-Outreach and Mark Harper (YFC) are currently involved in the preliminary stages of relief work. The floods and the cyclone have left the place in ruin: every tree is broken and there are palm trees lying in the roads. This all has to be cleared away before any rebuilding can take place.

Approximately 90% of the roofs of the in/formal houses and government buildings that are still standing have been blown off or destroyed. These need to be repaired or rebuilt in order for these houses and buildings to be functional.

There is no electricity in the villages and cities affected. They are using generators as an attempt to regain use of electricity for their relief efforts and daily needs. Without electricity there is a breakdown in communications, the banks and other general services in the area cannot function, and the relief efforts are severely hinder as nothing can be refrigerated, heated, purified, and the like.

What are the needs in Mozambique?

Luckily there is running water, but there is no food and very little shelter for the Mozambican people. Also all the school books have been destroyed by the water. Schools officially started yesterday, but the children are not going to school primarily to learn but rather to clean up their school so that it can be in a condition conducive to learning. The school has no roof and so the children are sitting in the shade of the walls for any lessons they might be able to have.

What is 3D-Outreach doing?

We are currently working along side the local churches and relief volunteers as a joint inter-denominational relief effort. There are now 5 soup kitchens being run in and around the village of Vilanculos. The government has requested that 3D-Outreach run their soup kitchens and are supplying them with rice and beans to feed the people in these areas.

The government has also provided field tents for shelter for those who lost their houses. The problem being that these tents were put up in the wet, and have remained wet, which could lead to water born diseases.

Filed Under: News and Stories
Associated Tags: 3D Outreach, Cyclone, Mozambique, Relief, Schools, Soup Kitchen, Vilanculos, Volunteers