African Impact Mozambique

My Culture Days By Chloe Grandidge

2011-04-28T13:13:00.005+02:00

Once a month the volunteers get to take part in a culture day. Culture day is a day set aside, where we go to Eddie's house (Eddie is our translator) and spend the day with our family.

We start the day off with 'market challenge'. We each get given a list of ingredients to go and buy at the market and a certain amount of money to spend. It's a race, so the fasted market shopper gets a prize. Due to the language barrier it can be tough actually buying the right things, but it is still fun trying to find your way around. There are also always plenty of people willing to help. Not that this always works because I managed to buy the wrong things in my first challenge even though I had a lot of help, which is ironic. The second time though I didn't get any help and won! My reward was a box of bicuits and a chocolate ha ha!

We then go to Eddie's house and help cook the local dish 'matapa'. We get to try all the traditional methods of cooking, from scrapping out coconuts, using a paladori (basically a special stool with a circular grater attached) to crushing the peanuts and molhos de matapa (in English= matapa leaves), using a Gadoo. This is definitely not how you spell it! It's official name is mossi and churi, which is basically a large pestle and mortar.

Unfortunately I can't eat matapa because of the peanuts, so Eddie's wife and neices made a special rice dish, which was really tasty.

I found it really interesting to see how sociable a thing cooking is here. We cooked on two open fires, outside under a tree and everyone helps out. Many people walk in and out just to see what's happening. They find it really funny watching us attempt the different cooking methods. they openly laugh at us, which I think is hilarious.

Whilst dinner is cooking we get the chance to play with Eddie's six children and their freiends. We take a box of games for them to play with, which they enjoy. Although, children being children, they usually find something else to play with. Maybe a stick or a plant ha ha!

Eddie has a huge garden and he grows alot of his own food. He showed us how and when to pick certain foods like sweetcorn and peanuts. I tried alot of different foods, which I really enjoyed. For example: cassava (the root of the matapa plant), sour fruit from the tree, coconut and coconut milk.

I have been lucky enough to experience two culture days and both have been just as good as each other!

2011-04-19T17:31:00.005+02:00

My name is Zacarius, I live in Vilankulo and I'm 19 years old. I started firstly to learn English with African Impact in 2008 with Teacher Jude and in 2010 with teacher Kerrie and with other volunteers from different countries. With African Impact's help I'm in teacher training college in Vilankulo where I am learning to teach English and my other friends whom I studied with in African Impact's classes are working in different companies in Vilankulo. So I hope that after my English teacher training I will be an English teacher in a Primary school.

Thank you African Impact for your help.

Thanks so much Zacarius, you were a model student and welcome back anytime! We all wish you the best luck for the future :)

The above photo left to right is Zacarius. Kerrie and Beny (another English student).

Edson's English by Lies ter Braak

2011-04-05T16:34:00.004+02:00

Every Wednesday and Friday in the afternoon we teach English at Edson's class. There are three groups, separated in levels: beginners, intermediate and advanced.

The students are of all ages from young teenagers to adults. But what they have in common is that they really want to learn English. It's their own choice to sign up for joining, so they are motivated and that's nice to see. What we are doing in our lesson will help them to improve their English speaking and listening skills. It's a good thing that we can create this opportunity for the students; it's supporting their chances to get a good job in the future.

Thanks Lies! The current volunteers are great at planning and preparing for their English lessons and really are providing the best EFL education for their students- Kerrie

My Pre-School Experience By Runa Aarre Sommarset

2011-03-29T17:32:00.004+02:00

My main reason for going to Vilanculos was the pre-school. I love children, and back home in Norway I used to work in a kindergarden. I thought it would be interesting to work with children in Africa, and I was looking forward to get to know children with a total different culture from what I’m used to.

The pre-school project is amazing! First of all, I got surprised over how much work earlier volunteers have done, and you can really see that it is making a difference. We have a lot of resources and games that makes it easy for us new volunteers to make the lessons fun for the children. So far we have been teaching numbers up to seven, colours, shapes and some letters. The children are working hard, and even though it’s not always easy to know the difference between green and yellow, or p and d, we can see that they are having a good time!

It is very hot in Vilanculos these days, sometimes up to 40ºC, so we arrange beach-day almost every Thursday. The children, teachers and the volunteers are all enjoying this day! It is nice to get down to the sea and let the children run and play in the water. At the end of the day we are all really tired, but it is really worth it!

We have also arranged and art-day at the pre-school. One of the volunteers, Chloe, brought some pegs from England and made dolls. The children had to give the dollies hair and dresses, and the result was a lot of cute, sparkling and dollies. We also made some gift-tags, and it is all going to be sold to raise money for African Impact’s team on the Amazing Race. At the end of the day the children went crazy with the glitter! It was a fun day! As normal, we have a lot of singing and dancing during a day at the pre-school.

The children are getting really good at the national anthem, and "I do, I do" is always a great way to start the day. The meals are always the highlight of the day! We are really glad that we just got some new cups. Now the children don’t have to wait so long to get their e-pap! As a volunteer, I’m really enjoying life in Vilanculos.

Of course there is some ups and downs; sometimes my lessons doesn’t work as well as I thought, other times I feel that I manage to teach the children something new, which is a really good feeling! And then you have the children, they are so adorable! Their smiles and laughter are priceless, and I will definitely miss them when I’m going back home!

Projects Update

2011-03-14T15:51:00.004+02:00

Hello everybody, just a quick update as the projects have now been running for about a week.

Pre-school: The little ones are mostly settled in now, they really are tiny! Everything is now running with a smooth routine, obviously aided by the current volunteers. Unfortunately just before the school re-opened the chickens were stolen. We will buy more when we can ensure the safety of them! However, from the farm the peanuts and beans are almost ready to go into the children's rice.

Edson's (Adult) English: The testing day was a real success with over seventy students registered, although we had to turn away around thirty. If the numbers drop then at the start of every month we will hold a testing day to register the eager students. It's great to see the old faces return but also to see plenty of new ones too!

Orphanage: We have visited the Heart to Heart orphanage twice already. We have spent time with the gorgeous children there and also begun laying the cement floor for the second dormitory. At the end of this month there will be an Open Day we people can visit in and see what they orphanage is all about. The volunteers will have a large role in organising the activities.

English Club: Is running very well, the volunteers and students both enjoy the one to one time and a more informal and conversational based lesson.

Escolinha is re-opened!

2011-03-01T11:53:00.009+02:00

We had seventy very excited (and very tiny) children at pre-school this morning. Many of them you will recognise as being brothers or sisters of previous pupils although they certainly do have their own little characters! The new children enjoyed singing songs, seeing the new library and being given their new sunhats (kindly donated by ex vol, Maureen Lonergan). Later today we will see the arrival of our first volunteers and as well as teaching at pre-school they will also re-open Edson's English by distributing and marking tests on Friday, with the classes starting next week.

Good luck future volunteers...we are looking forward to your help this year :D

p.s. I'm having really problems uploading photos at the moment so bear with me, there will be more!

Update

2011-02-26T09:42:00.000+02:00

As you may be aware from the 1st of December to the 1st March our projects have been closed due to the weather (heat and cyclone season). During this time we have made improvements to our pre-school and watched our oldest children start school (sob!)

Escolinha De Boa Esperanca:
The school has undergone a reguvenation! The staff for three months have been working tirelessly painting, fitted doors, clearing land and planting crops. The school is now brighter and lighter and more secure. The land is ready for the children in March, peanuts and beans are bountiful and will provide a nutritious lunch together with the rice. One of the rooms inside the school has also been transformed into a library, with reed mats and cushions on the floor and books the volunteers can read with the children. We can’t wait to see the children’s faces when they first come back to school!

African Impact’s class (the five to six year olds) have now graduated to school. They have grown so much in the last three months and we will really miss their strong characters but wish them luck for the future.

Sponsor a Child:
This month the seventeen children who are currently sponsored all recieved a school uniform (so smart!) as well as the other donations requested.

Edson’s English and English Club:
Both of these projects are set up and ready to begin. Due to the Church’s (Edson’s classes site) other committments we will hold Edson’s English on a Wednesday and Friday afternoon and the Volunteers will have Thursday afternoon’s free instead.

Heart to Heart Orphanage:
Are very excited in anticipation of our March incoming volunteers, their first project with be continuing the good work of the November volunteers in continuing to build the second dormitory block.

Kareema's New House Is Completed

2010-12-21T14:09:00.008+02:00

Kareema is an inspiring lady who worked with African Impact on our HIV positive awareness community project. It was noted whilst working with her that her house was falling apart (see top picture) so we decided to build her a new one...as it was necessary but also as a thank you because we appreciated her positivity and guidance with the local community. It took a few months to build...however it has been finished this week by African Impact staff (Eddie, Joao and Samuel) and Kareema is very happy with her new house (see middle picture)...we certainly are and we hope it lasts many years.

Storeroom at Escolinha Completed

2010-12-21T13:57:00.003+02:00

A spacious storeroom to hold all the necessary gardening tools, chicken paraphanailia and other 'junk' has been completed by Eddie, Joao, Samuel and Lorenco. It was started by the volunteers but because Eddie, our translator and head builder, was ill it was unable to be completed by the close of projects at the end of November. However in December all four men have worked very hard and now the pre-school will be a tider place...storing only teaching resources.

Keep checking for further exciting updates on developments at the pre-school!

Escolinha's New Mural

2010-12-03T08:07:00.009+02:00

On my arrival at pre-school on Monday 11th November, the outside of the building was in much need of a fresh coat of paint and looked very grubby. We were told that one of the projects for our duration of volunteering was to repaint the school and paint a mural. I felt quite honoured that I was given the task of overseeing the completion of the mural and started wracking my brain for a theme! I was however saved any sleepless nights by a fresh bunch of teenage girls from an American travelling school. An artistic girl called Anna drew the outline for the mural and they also did alot of touching up of a mural inside the building too. This obviously made my job easier, as all I had to do now was to make the mural as colourful , educational and attractive as possible.

We, as a group, spent two afternoons repainting inside and outside of the school and I concentrated on 'my' mural. I was, I have to say, assisted by Amalia (my 13 year old English club student) without whose help I probably wouldn't have finished in time! This was also a great opportunity to have extra one to one time with her and her English has really improved! In turn, it also gave her a sense of purpose and working together. Katherine, I also have to thank for the beautiful birds!

The mural, as can be seen from the photos, depicts a garden with various fruits and vegetables, the names of which have been written in both English and Portuguese.

The children were, to start with, very interested when big pots of paint and brushes could be seen and initially I could sense they were just dying to get stuck in and make a huge mess! As I carried on every other day or so doing bits here and there at intervalo time etc and once outlining and detail took shape, they would point...and touch!... the various fruits and vegetables and say them in Portuguese and try to repeat them in English. One of the pupils, the feisty Felicidades, even came up before completion and said "Hey! Deb! Muito bonito!" with a thumbs up and then walked off.....praise indeed!!!

It's a great feeling to have been given the opportunity to contribute to something that will last, where I can leave a 'mark', just as these children have left a mark on me in ways that I cannot put into words.

I do know, however, that after the long summer there will be many little grubby handprints on that wall again...the next group of volunteers will patch it up I'm sure!

Written by Debby Weldacher....thank you so much Debby for all your ideas and hard work, the mural looks beautiful and the children absolutely love it! I'm sure you will be right about the handprints!!!- Kerrie.

Finally.....Chicken Tractor is Completed!

2010-11-13T10:42:00.004+02:00

Many volunteers over the last three or four months have contributed to the construction of our chicken tractor. They will also know the struggles of buying the resources and the frustrations of actually building the tractor. However our first tractor (of many hopefully!) is now complete and houses three hens....apted named by a volunteer: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hens have already started laying eggs, which have been cooked and served with the school rice. It is now the volunteers responsibility to look after the chicken's food and water daily and also replenish the bedding weekly.

Thank you to everyone's hard work....it has finally paid off and we have three very happy hens! :D

Escolinha Logo Designed by Volunteer

2010-11-08T13:27:00.004+02:00

Hi my name is Haseena, from London and I was a volunteer at the teaching project in Vilanculos, Mozambique, from Oct-Nov 2010.

I am just blogging to inform you all that I have designed a logo for the pre-school which is now painted on the wall inside the school. I really wanted to do something special that would last at pre-school and hence designing the logo was a way of capturing the essence of the school's purpose, the kids and the atmosphere...and it was a sneaky way of leaving my mark behind too!

I kept my design clean and simple so it can be easily replicated and hopefully during the lessons the children will be able to draw and paint the logo too. The banner contains the name of the school (pre-school of good hope) and I tried to symbolise this with a cartoon-like house (for young kids at school) and a smiley face and sun to represent good hope.

The next step...embroidered baseball caps withe the logo on for all the kids at pre-school for those hot sunny days and who knows after that....uniforms, pencil cases.... the possibilities are endless!!!

Hope you all like it! :D

P.S. A big thanks to all the volunteers who helped out, including holding the ladder and paint for me and to Poppy and Kerrie for getting hold of the materials and paint. Couldn't have done it without you guys!!

Friday October 15th- HIV/ AIDs Awareness Day

2010-10-16T10:42:00.004+02:00

On Friday the 15th of October we held a HIV/AIDs Awareness and Testing day at the pre-school for the local community. On Thursday we went on a walkabout with the teachers and children to advertise the day. We found this really interesting because we were able to see more of the local community and how they live, and also interact with the people. We spoke to alot of locals and were expecting a big turnout.

We arrived at 8 a.m. Friday morning to set up our information stands- one with an informative DVD and true/false game, and the other with important information on transmission and treatment. The local CARE team arrived and set up four testing stations for any members of the community that wanted to get tested. Unfortunately by 9 a.m. we only had five people. However, we decided to get started anyway and a few more people joined in as we went along. The information was well recieved by those that were there and we were pleased to see that they were willing to participate and also knew alot about HIV and AIDs. Although we were surprised to notice that most of the locals didn't realise that HIV/AIDs is a worldwide problem and didn't just affect developing African countries but also rich western ones. Everyone enjoyed our demonstration of how HIV can and can't be transmitted, with the help of our sexual health dolls (full genitalia intact!). We also got a few laughs during our condom demonstration in which we explained how to put a condom on a cucumber. Free condoms were handed out to all those who attended.

Despite our initial disappointment at such a small turnout, we were all very pleased with how the morning went. 38 people were tested, which is a really good outcome. Those that tested positive were directed to the local hospital where there is a great HIV/AIDs department offering counselling and free treatment. We hope that our efforts have helped to raise awareness of HIV and AIDs and maybe even saved a life.

Written by Alex and Ana Costa Matos, Friso Halbertsma, Hassena Hakda and Emily Edwards.

Thank you all so much for your hard work :)

Beautiful poem written by one of our advanced Edson's students

2010-10-14T14:24:00.006+02:00

Street Kid

I am a simple kid born in this wonderful world where everybody has a space,
a piece of land and a roof to live.
The ghetto and the streets of this city are my shelter.
I am a simple kid born and destined to be adopted by the streets of this city.
I spend the most part of my time washing cars,
suffering insult, even worse, humiliation.
So that in the end of the day I can win a piece of land, or 10 mets, sometimes none.
The worst is to recieve insult and scorn, in this way- my life goes on.

If my lucky day come I can get a sandwich or something more.
But when my lucky day doesn't come, it is only despised and sometimes I'm called by names that I don't like.

I still remember last night, when I was dressing without a blanket,
I just heard a voice saying "Hey kid, get away from there, go to school".
Sometimes I spend days and nights praying for me and for those who don't know what they are talking,
because I'm hopeful that I can see a light in the end of this tunnel.

Written by Severiano Francisco Xavier Gimo

Health Awareness Day

2010-09-27T14:40:00.013+02:00

Health Awareness Day at the preschool was planned by the volunteers for Friday 24th September. The day before we had all had a walkabout around the local area with the preschool children. We delivered leaflets to each home that we visited encouraging people to attend. There were four subjects area –

Sexual Health
Healthy Eating & Drinking
Malaria Prevention
General Hygiene

The group of men and women moved from display to display listing to our presentations with the help of Eddie’s translation.

Written by Sue Fletcher

Sexual Health (L-R: Eddie, Sue, Isabelle)

Sexual Health

The Sexual Health Display was the first to be visited by an audience of about 25 local women and one or two men. Inevitably, our direct approach to sex education was met with many giggles, as it was a subject not usually discussed with such openness.

We started with some basic statistics on HIV/AIDS and the need for regular testing and possible treatments. With the help of Eddie’s translation, we went on to discuss the ways in which HIV may be transmitted, and we explained that it is possible to live normally with people who are HIV positive. We quizzed the audience, using flashcards, about activities that will not transmit HIV, which they understood clearly. Another key message was the right of women to refuse sex and the pressure placed upon them by men.

We then discussed other STDs, their symptoms, consequences and possible cures. Condom use was a major topic in our presentation, we demonstrated how to correctly open a condom packet and compared HIV transmission with and without a condom, using a diagram. After looking through the leaflet on how to use them, and laughing at our descriptions, each member of the audience was given a handful of condoms, which they gratefully received. Before the presentation ended, some questions were raised about the acquisition of female condoms, which we explained could be discussed at the local clinic.

Written by Sue Fletcher & Isabelle Younane

Healthy Eating & Drinking (Standing L-R: Margarida, Jade, Eddie)

Healthy Eating & Drinking

We talked mostly about 3 main topics:

*Food Pie Chart

*Food to limit (sweets/fried food)

*Healthy drinking

We described the food pie chart of how much wheat, meat, fruit, veg and dairy products should be eaten a day. We specifically mentioned the amount of fruit and veg they should have a day and how they contain a lot of vitamins to help prevent flues, cold and help boost their immune system. In contrast we focused their attention off the foods they should limit, for example, fizzy drinks, sweets and fried food.

Lastly we spoke about healthy drinking, how much clean water they should drink a day and showed how many cups this would be. In parallel we told them alcohol should be drunk in a moderate and controlled way and we gave an example of how many cans of beer would be acceptable to drink at once. We also showed them bottles of rum and wine to demonstrate the amount of alcohol is considered acceptable at once.

The audience was very enthusiastic about our stand and they were particularly interested at the end, they asked questions regarding alternative ingredients they could substitute others that are very expensive for them (eg. Meat/Cheese). They mentioned that beef is not a common product on their daily diet and we suggested that it could be substituted with beans, because they have the same amount of protein.

Another topic brought up by them was fruit and vegetables have more vitamins but how could they get the vitamins in more affordable foods? We explained that oranges, bananas, tomatoes have a lot of the nutirients that they need, but a good way of having more variety would be to add spinach and cabbage to their rice.

Finally, the women mentioned they would actually like to see the different ingredients on the table, instead of having them in a drawing of the food pie chart.Most of them specifically talked about cheese, since this is something they don’t usually eat, because it is very expensive when compared to other products.They suggested that next time we could have small pieces of cheese so they could try out how tastes and what they would use it for.

Written by Jade Thomas & Margarida Rodrigues

Malaria Prevention (Standing L-R: Eddie, Katherine sitting, Jantine)

Malaria Prevention

Our presentation for Awareness Day was based on Malaria. We had four main points to get across; where malaria comes from (mosquitoes), how to prevent mosquito bites, the symptoms of malaria and that going to the hospital to be tested was vital.

We made the presentation as visual as possible and this was received really well by the local women. When Jantine described how to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes Katherine put on a long sleeved top and climbed onto a pretend bed underneath a mosquito net which was hanging from a tree outside. This got a lot of laughs from the crowd and hopefully this will stand out in their memory and demonstrate the message clearly.

Overall we believe that the presentation was succinct, it relayed each message very well. The one query we received was questioning whether or not malaria could come from water. This was quite a shocking question and we quickly reassured them that malaria only came from mosquito bites. We connected and assured them that the waters role in malaria prevention was the need to put lids over water buckets and containers so that mosquitoes are unable to lay their eggs.

To conclude, the short nature of our presentation meant that it ran smoothly without a great deal of complexity.

Written by Katherine King & Jantine Verboeket

General Hygiene (Standing L-R: Eddie, Becky, Emily)

General Hygiene

General Hygiene covered hand washing, eye infections and oral hygiene. We explained the importance of washing your hands with soap and hot water, if available, or clean cold water, and when you should wash your hands after going tot the toilet, working outside, treating wounds etc and before eating and preparing food. In regards to eye infections, we described some symptoms of eye infections, including sore or watery eyes and a burning sensation behind your eyelids. We also explained how to prevent spreading eye infections. Tooth brushing was fairly straight forward as we demonstrated how to brush all surfaces of your teeth and the importance of using toothpaste and rinsing your mouth. We handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste to all the ladies but of course they all wanted a different colour, different size and 10 more for their kids at home! We also briefly went through the dangers of smoking and its possible effects on your health. All in all it was a successful presentation that was easily received thanks to our translator Eddie. We hope that we imparted some useful information and that the toothbrushes will get some good use!

Written by Emily Edwards & Becky Hatton

Art Day (Thursday 16th September 2010)

2010-09-20T15:27:00.003+02:00

Today the whole school participated in a day of art organised by Ashy and Dani. We began the day with the normal routine, which meant distributing e-pap as the children arrived and also singing a few songs together during circle time.

Dani and Ashy organised use all into three groups; 3-4 year olds inside the pre-school in one room, 4-5s into another classroom and the 5-6s in a separate classroom outside.

Katherine, Emily and Jantine were with the 4-5 year olds. We started with leaf rubbings. Some of them found it very hard but one little girl managed really well...she's definitely an artist in the making!

The next activity was finger painting, which was of course rather messy....although not as bad as it could have been! The children enjoyed using their thumbs, and other fingers, to make flowers. Some of the volunteers also enjoyed doing this!

After a quick run around outside in the sun, we moved onto the next activity. The children coloured in little paper cut-outs of themselves, which were then placed onto a sketch of the school. The finished product looks amazing, it's bright and colourful and really represents the spirit of the school. Everyone was really pleased with the final piece of art and is now proudly displayed inside the school.

A huge thank you to Ashy and Dani for organising such a fun and successful day!

This blog was written by Katherine King (Thank you also!)

New Bikes and Uniform for all African Impact Staff!

2010-09-19T11:04:00.024+02:00

The African Impact Staff! (L-R Deolinda, Eddie, Joao, Cecilia, Lourenco, Zelia, Maria, Samuel)

Last Friday each member of the African Impact Staff received a new bike (brilliantly put together by Joao) and a very smart African Impact uniform. Each member of staff works so hard towards making this project the success that it is, so a HUGE thank you to them all!

Joao's mastered it! Eddie gives Samuel a helping hand

Completed Building Project...New toilets at Pre-school!

2010-09-17T09:38:00.005+02:00

The volunteers and our very hard-working translator Eddie have completed a new set of toilets for pre-school. It took two weeks and alot of hard manual work but everyone got stuck in and the rewards are well worth it.....thank you everyone :)

New Project English Club

2010-09-17T09:29:00.005+02:00

We have just started an exciting new project....English Club. Currently we have twelve students who all work at our volunteer accomodation, Aguia Negra, and they attend lessons on a Saturday morning from 9-10 a.m. The lessons are planned and led by the volunteers and focus on speaking and listening skills, which will aid them in their jobs.

We are hoping the project will prove to be as successful as our others and will grow to include more members of the local community.

Mozambique Victory Art Day

2010-09-17T09:16:00.006+02:00

On Thursday 2nd September we held an art day at pre-school to celebrate Mozambique Victory Day. Victory Day, the 7th September, celebrates the date Mozambique initially gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

In their classes the children loved decorating and making brightly coloured flowers from pipe cleaners and tissue paper. They then all joined together for a colourful procession in the plyground. They enjoyed waving their flowers in the air and singing 'Bandeira Africana, Bandeira Mocambicana', meaning 'Flag of Africa, Flag of Mozambique'.

The volunteers later helped to make the flowers into two wreaths and a lovely garland, which are now hanging brightly outside the pre-school.

Using the colours of the flag- green, red, yellow, black and white, all the children helped to paint a big 'MOCAMBIQUE' sign. Many messy hands later....it looks great hanging in Zelia's classroom.

It was a really fun morning with big smiles, loud singing voices and multi-coloured decorations in celebration of a special Mozambican national holiday.

Written by Laura Barton and Katie Hood- thank you girls for planning a fabulous morning!

HIV/AIDS Awareness Project

2010-09-15T19:26:00.003+02:00

African Impact has just completed 4 more successful weeks of our HIV/AIDS Awareness Project. We had three sessions at the Escola Secundaria de Vilanculos, teaching a class of 18+ year olds, and two sessions at Alta Macassa working with a group of HIV positive women.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the secondary school, and found the students to be enthusiastic, hard-working and knowledgeable. We taught the students about prevention and treatment, along with the biology and history of the virus. Although the students were already quite well informed, we found it necessary to clear up some of the common myths surrounding HIV and AIDS. The students were very engaging and asked many questions, which was fantastic and created a lot of discussion amongst the class.

In one of our sessions we performed a short play about HIV, in which our main character Pedro was persuaded by his friend not to buy condoms as “it’s better without!” Pedro then goes on to have unprotected sex with Nilza, a girl he met in a local nightclub. After the performance the students were asked what they thought of the play, and what they thought about how the characters acted. We then invited the students to change the play so it had a more positive ending, and asked the students to enter the roles of the characters. This worked really well, and the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves. In the second part of the session we asked the students to create their own piece of drama about various HIV/AIDS topics. The students came up with some great performances and really explored the issues surrounding the virus.

Our two sessions at Alta Macassa were very different from those at the secondary school; the group was a lot smaller and our sessions were much more casual. We began both sessions with a quick game of Uno to help make everyone feel more comfortable. The women took to the game quickly and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Since it was already known that the women were HIV positive, we decided to focus specifically on the transmission of the virus and treatment.

In our second session we asked the women to create a piece of artwork that expressed how they felt about HIV/AIDS. This was very special because they had never done anything like it; most of them had never even held a pen. It took them a while to take hold of the idea, but once they started working they got very involved. The artwork covered a wide range of topics, some focused on the need for a healthy diet while others illustrated the need for support from loved ones. Overall, the two sessions went very well and the women were eager to learn more.

Throughout the past four weeks, we have been lucky enough to work with a lot of great people and have really enjoyed the project. We look forward to future updates on the progression of the HIV/AIDS Awareness Project.

Written by Catriona Currie and Katie Hood

African Impact Mozambique on YouTube!

2010-09-13T11:34:00.003+02:00

We had the pleasure of having Yvette and Maurice from Activity International visit our projects last month. While here they kindly put together a video of Vilanculos, life as a Volunteer and the projects we are working on, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbYPNB9ifUc

Road Safety Day

2010-08-30T15:14:00.009+02:00

On Friday the 27th August, African Impact ran it's first ever road safety lesson at pre-school. The lesson was spilt into three different sections, focusing on areas that the volunteers had noticed there were concerns, including:

Crossing the road,

Where to walk,

Not using the road as a playground!

For the 'Crossing the road' activity the children were taught five basic steps using flashcards and 'do as I do'. 1= Listen, 2= Look left, 3= Look right, 4= Look left and 5. Ok......now walk. The volunteers created a road using skipping ropes and the children had to pretend to cross the road using the five basic steps.

For the 'Where to walk' activity the volunteers drew a road scene on the blackboard with clear pavements. Using stick on cars, bikes, motorbikes and pedestrians, we asked the children to put them in the correct place.

For the 'Not using the road as a playground' activity, the volunteers created another road using skipping ropes and demonstrated how you should and should not behave on the roads and pavements. Including: sitting/ lying on the road, chasing each other, chasing vehicles and picking up fruit. We had made a car, which we used on the 'road' to model the correct behaviour. Using the same activity and several of our pupils, we showed the rest of the school our correct road safety behaviour. The children really enjoyed the demonstration and were beeping constantly! Also in the second session we sang our fantastic song, which was a 'mash up' of 'The Wheels and the Bus' and several other songs the children know well. It was such fun!

Overall it was a hugely successful morning and the teaching points were re-enforced in real life by four volunteers who walked home with most of the class...and not one of them chased the truck!!!

The blog was written by Danielle Bailey, who also suggested the lesson needed to be taught and planned it along with Laura Barton. It was a well planned lesson and will be repeated every two months in the future to keep up the safe road behaviour. Thank you Danielle and Laura!

Water Awareness Day....What A Success!

2010-08-25T16:56:00.006+02:00

What an amazing day......on Friday 20th August we held a Water Awareness Day at Pre-school. Around seventy members from the local community came along to learn about water hygiene and health. This fantastic attendence was due to the volunteer's hard work planning and making leaflets, which were handed out the day before during a 'walkabout' around Mahake. The volunteers worked in four groups to plan and make resources for an informative and fun stand, each on a different aspect of water awareness. They kept it visual and fun, with lots of demonstations and also free samples of soap. Everybody had such a fanatastic morning and at the end a lady thanked the volunteers for putting on the event for the community. She explained that although they already knew they should wash their hands properly with soap, many people do not and that it was interesting to find out about the diseases and how to prevent them. She also expressed her general appreciation for our Water Awareness Day. Below are the volunteer's summaries of their information stands.

Handwashing (written by Danielle Bailey, Heledd Owain and Nina Baur):

The aim of our stall was to educate the community on when and why they should wash their hands and the consequences of not using soap. On our stand the group were shown a series of prompt cards with different activities on e.g. administering first aid or going to the toilet. They were then asked to decide whether they should wash their hands, before, after or both. We had a bowl of soap and water and asked them to wash their hands if they thought the answer was yes, but they were a little shy. Once the prompt cards were completed we explained the diseases that they could catch if they didn't use soap, which caused a few surprised faces. At the end we gave out free soap, but the demand was so high we had to cut them into smaller pieces.

Drink Water, Clean Water (written by Johanna Oblund, Megan Jones and Maroeska Van Oosten):

We wanted to inform about the importance of drinking water so we had one poster with 'Why' it's important and also 'How to know I'm drinking enough' facts. The second poster was about safe/clean water, informing about how to make sure the water is safe to drink. We divided this poster into three parts: water from the river, the pump and rainwater. The third poster explained why clean water is so important; informing about diseases and again emphasising checking the water source and what to do if they're unsure the water is safe. We also illustrated how much a person should drink each day by using the male and female puppets. Deolinda did a fantastic job translating for us and everybody seemed very interested in the information we provided.

Storing Your Water (written by Katie Hood, Emilie Mesmans and Laura Barton):

We aimed to explain how to keep your water clean in a container and safe from contamination. The main message was 'Keep it clean and keep it covered'. We gave some examples of daily activities such as: farming, using the toilet and playing, and explained how you should always wash your hands with soap and water. We also showed a clean bucket with a lid, explaining how an open bucket risks the water getting dirty and contaminated, leading to illness. The visitors seemed very interested in the advice and the morning was very successful.

Cleaning With Water And Soap (written by Catriona Currie, Kelly Bolhuis and Ilona Elferie):

Our Water Awareness Day stand was a great success. We used colourful posters, visual aids and props to explain the best ways to clean your body, teeth and house. We explained that you should always use clean water and soap, toothpaste or washing up liquid. The group were very attentive and engaged in discussions about whether you could use soap and washing up liquid interchangeably. The group seemed to appreciate the advice we gave.

The morning was a huge success and thank you very much to everyone involved!

Care's Support

2010-07-14T14:49:00.007+02:00

We have been very lucky over the last few months in having incredible support from CARE International. CARE have been incredibly generous in the diverse areas which they have helped Escholinha de Boa Esperanca.

Since March with the help of volunteers and the dedicated work of Lourenco an area of land has been cleared at preschool. Last month the land was leveled and CARE organized for local carpenters and builders to come and construct the playground. As you can see from the photographs the children have loved playing on the seesaw, slide and swings.

CARE have also donated five beautiful wooden tables and twenty chairs. Now with a brand new roof on the main building at preschool (paid for through our Sponsor a Child scheme) we no longer have to worry about rainy days disrupting lessons and materials and resources being effected by the water and the new tables and chairs being damaged.

We have always provided the children with daily rice (cooked for by a volunteer or Lourenco) which has been supplemented with the vegetables grown at the preschool farm. Now with the support of CARE the children have ePap (a vitamin and nutrient powder) which is added to hot water. When the water is cool enough to drink fresh fruit juice is added as well as oil and sugar. This ePap constitutes to the daily allowance a child needs daily for growth and development. This is given to the children on arrival at Preschool and goes down really well!

A New Roof on the Preschool!

2010-07-14T14:31:00.002+02:00

For years now we have had constant problems with the roof at Preschool leaking. Although many attempts have been made to patch the offending areas rain still seemed to seep through into the school. This caused extensive disruption to lessons as the water flooded the main classroom.

Now I am so thrilled to say that we have a brand new roof! This was paid for by the general funds of our Sponsor a Child scheme. The new roof brings with it many benefits including the obvious lack of disruption to classes. Volunteers can now paint the interior of the preschool (something that is already well under way) without having to repaint in a few months time to cover the water damage. CARE have been very kind in donating some beautiful wooden tables and chairs which we can store without the worry of them becoming damaged by the water.

Esperanca’s Children’s’ House

2010-07-14T10:52:00.004+02:00

Last month saw the completion of a house which the volunteers built for the children of Esperanca; our teacher who tragically died last November.

The house was built for the eldest three of her six children who live with their father Alfredo. The younger children live out of town in the countryside with their grandmother. Before the house was built the children were sharing in a house with their uncle and auntie.

The volunteers greatly enjoyed seeing how the house came together under the leadership of master builder Eddie. When it was completed Deolinda and Zelia, Esperanca’s colleagues from the preschool came to see the end result.

This project was kindly supported by Michael Poppel who has given very generously to African Impact Mozambique. Thank you Michael.

HIV Project Impacts the Secondary School!

2010-07-13T17:32:00.005+02:00

June has been a very exciting month for the HIV/AIDs awareness project! Owing to a strong working relationship with Laura, a Peace Corp Volunteer, we were able to deliver a series of four teaching session promoting HIV/AIDs awareness at a local secondary school. We worked with a class of forty students aged between seventeen and eighteen years old which provided us with an excellent opportunity to work directly with our target audience.

As the content of the sessions was of a highly personal nature we began by agreeing a set of rules to which we would all adhere to throughout our time together. The students expressed the importance of trusting and respecting one another and ensuring that all information discussed in the sessions remained confidential.

At the outset, we created a list detailing any questions the students had about HIV/AIDs in view of answering them over the coming sessions. The class were very proactive and showed great interest in furthering their understanding of HIV/AIDs. Many of the questions concerned fundamental issues regarding transmission of the HIV virus. Accordingly, this exercise was very positive as it reinforced the importance of conducting such workshops.

In our first session we introduced the topic of HIV/AIDs by presenting information about the prevalence rate of people infected with the virus in Vilanculos. This elicited a mixed response from the class with many surprised by the high infection rate. We played a game whereby students were asked to write a statement they had heard about HIV/AIDs and indicated whether they thought it was a true or false. This task raised some common misconceptions about the virus and led to discussions of relationship issues such as the importance of being faithful. It was really rewarding to see the students considering the social context in which the information we were giving them was operate.

In the second session we focused on the differing ways in which the HIV virus can be transmitted. Through the use of role play, illustrated flashcards and a DVD presentation we discussed the range of possible transmission methods. The class had many questions and really engaged with the material. We then explained the biology of the virus to ensure the students understood the effect the HIV cells have on the human body. In particular, one student expressed his surprise at the aggressive nature of the virus. This was a very satisfying moment as the class were really comprehending the severity of contracting HIV and consequently the importance of protecting against it.

In the third session we focused on treatment of HVI and discussed the important things to remember once someone has begun taking medication. We used true or false games and group discussion to reinforce the crucial requirements associated with controlling the virus. We also used diagrams to show the speed at which HIV can spread as a result of unprotected sex.

In the final session we conducted a quiz and referred back to the set of questions from the first session. Much to our delight the students were themselves now able to answer those. This was extremely rewarding as it showed their knowledge and awareness of the HIV virus had really developed.

It was a pleasure to have worked with such a welcoming, bright group of students and this session marked the end of a truly fantastic experience.

Written by Laura Robinson from England who volunteered for one month from June-July 2010

Keeping Fit and Having Fun on Sports Day

2010-07-12T08:39:00.007+02:00

This past Thursday we had a 'Sports Day' at the Pre-school. We planned a day of fun and games for the entire school and it was a great success! We spilt the children into eight different coloured teams, which were each led by a volunteer. We began the morning with an extended 'do as I do' gym session, to get the children warmed up and stretched out! There were four different events, a wheelbarrow race, egg and spoon race, skipping rope/army crawl challenge and a water relay. After the morning session we spilt the school into two groups and they enjoyed a game of soccer or a circle game with some beach balls. It was a fun day and all the children had a blast!

Written by Kelliann Devine, who with another fab volunteer Laura Robinson, planned the morning.

(Sorry we have been having problems uploading photos....they will be put up as soon as possible!)

Art Day at Preschool - Mozambican Independence Day Theme

2010-06-27T11:18:00.002+02:00

The volunteers got creative in planning a ‘Mozambique Independence Day’ (Independence day is on the 25th June) themed art morning for the whole school. Using the procession from Maputo through Vilanculos as an inspiration, the children made paper and sequin torches and we held our own procession, holding our torches high, through the playground. Each child also contributed to a fabric painting of the Mozambican flag and got very messy with handprints! A very fun morning enjoyed by all....Well done everyone!

Children’s Day with CARE International

2010-06-20T12:15:00.003+02:00

Tuesday the 1st of June was a very special day for the children at A Escolinha De Boa Esperanca as it was Dia Das Criancas (Mozambican Children's Day) and we celebrated with a huge party! For weeks the teachers and volunteers had been preparing the children for this day by teaching new songs in both Portuguese and English and as well as performing these songs they played 'pass the parcel’. The children were also treated to a puppet show from CARE International and they donated the children's lunch which included chicken, vegetable rice and for a treat a bag of sweets and biscuits. After lunch the children then had some wonderful cake baked by Deolinda and Zelia. It was such a fun day for the children and rewarding for everyone involved. As well as this a new uniform of a red polo neck T-Shirts were given to each child very generously donated by Maureen Lonergan. Don't the children look smart?!

HIV Testing at Escolinha de Boa Esperanca

2010-06-06T17:34:00.004+02:00

On the 25th May we had an HIV testing morning at the Preschool. The previous week the volunteers made fliers and posters and walked around the Mahaque area letting the community know that we were organizing free testing with CARE International. The volunteers as well as Annie a volunteer from Mozambique Horse Safari arrived at 8am and there were already a few people waiting. CARE arrived soon after with five people to do the testing. Three stayed on site and set up separate testing stations while the other two walked around the neighborhood doing testing’s.

The volunteers playing a true and false game based around HIV/AIDS awareness and by this time there were a substantial amount of people waiting to be tested. Many questions were asked which was very encouraging and many were well informed and talked openly about HIV/AIDS. One woman explained that it is difficult to use condoms and when the volunteers asked why she said that her husband refused to wear one and she was tired of asking him. The volunteers gave facts about HIV/AIDS in Africa and specifically about how it is effecting Mozambique.

Darren and Mirjam then showed how to use a condom with the use of a cucumber. A number of the young men made fun of it but Darren reminded them that it is not a joke, could save your life and therefore is very important. They then offered for anyone to come up and try putting the condom on the cucumber. Sofia (the lady we are involved with in our HIV project) volunteered and gave a speech about the importance for woman to carry condoms as well as men and that a woman should walk away from a situation if the male does not want to use it. A number of young men then came up and did the demonstration however the women watching were a little shy to volunteer.

Karen and Annie played out a comic made by Mirjam about the ways you can contract HIV/AIDS. This was very entertaining and provoked a number of questions and comments by the audience.

Through out the time the volunteers kept the waiting audience engaged in total 56 people were tested of which 6 were HIV positive. If was a very successful morning which the volunteers found very rewarding. Many thanks to CARE International for doing the testing’s and we look forward to working again with them soon.

Written by Andrina, Mirjam and Alexandra (HIV Project Volunteers)

Welcome Kerrie, our new Volunteer Coordinator!

2010-06-06T17:32:00.001+02:00

May saw the arrival of our new Volunteer Coordinator Kerrie. Kerrie is a qualified Primary Teacher from Salisbury, England with six years teaching experience in Salisbury and London. She took a career break last year (February to April 2009) to take part in African Impact's Lion Conservation project in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where she absolutely fell in love with Southern Africa. She feels that her new job as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Mozambique community projects combines everything she is passionate about: teaching, working with the communities, Africa and working in a team with a variety of people. A huge welcome Kerrie!

The Orphanage

2010-05-26T11:48:00.005+02:00

On Saturday 22nd May we went to the Orphanage in Pembarra. As well as the children that live at the orphanage, many children come from the surrounding communities to join in with our sessions. It was an incredibly successful afternoon, which both the orphans and volunteers enjoyed immensely. During the morning the volunteers planned the activities which included football and cricket, bracelet making, colouring in pictures, maths sessions and one to one tuition. The highlight was seeing the children fully engaged in the activities, whether for learning or enjoyment. Well done everyone!

Seventeen Children Sponsored!

2010-05-23T10:47:00.016+02:00

Through our charity, The Happy Africa Foundation we have our Sponsor a Child (SAC) programme which has gone from strength to strength. We have 17 children sponsored who all (but one) attended Preschool and now roughly half have graduated to Primary School.

To begin with we had four children sponsored, however the popularity of the scheme has been fantastic and we have had a steady increase in donors coming forward. We started meeting last September at the Preschool and have since met on the second Sunday of every month. We sit with the parent, relative or guardian and establish the needs of the child that month.

Donations can range from a blanket or mosquito net to school uniform and food packages but sadly not a house, which has been asked for! This is also a time when health issues are raised and the appropriate treatment is either bought for the next meeting or more immediate aid is given.

We have been having trouble with attendance so now our meetings will take place every two months. This means that the families are not so disrupted (they can attend church and do farming) and a larger, more substantial donation is given.

Since we started SAC we have given, amongst other things, the following items: Mats, blankets, mosquito nets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Vitamin C & B, Multi Vitamins, basic first aid, school uniforms, rucksacks, pens and pencils, clothes, food packages and much, much more.

To find out more contact Lucy Pollock - lucy@africanencounter.org

www.happyafricafoundation.org

Football Mozambique Style!

2010-05-21T14:18:00.005+02:00

In the Volunteers spare time some have played football on a Wednesday afternoon with a group made up of Edson's English students. Here one of our volunteers, Darren Scott (aged 42 from England) gives his account of one particular session. Sadly Darren had to sit on the sideline after experiencing an injury to his foot (off the football pitch!).

What professionals!

Volunteers were invited to train with the local football team. Many of the team platers are from the English classes were the volunteers teach. We started with a half hour warm up even though it was 26 degrees celsius which involved rhythmical dance like moves and slapping our thighs to provide a beat sound. We then played football in the sand. It was a great experience with so much fun and the team has invited us to play again. They told us they enjoyed the day and it seemed they were laughing at our inability to play bare foot in the sand. Hopefully this can become a regular weekly session for future volunteers.

Mahaque Women’s Cooperative, HIV Project

2010-04-30T17:15:00.006+02:00

HIV and AIDS has had a huge impact in Mozambique, at 12.5% for 15 – 49 year olds, it has one of the highest prevalence rate in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 800,000 women are living with HIV and there were 81,000 AIDs deaths in 2007 (UNICEF). We work at a local level to try to raise awareness and promote healthy living within the communities work. To help local Mozambicans to help themselves we aim to provide them with the tools so they have an opportunity to improve the quality of their lives.

The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF) plans to build a centre to be used as a meeting place and work site, primarily for women affected by HIV, but open to all members of the community. The women will use the centre as a small cooperative to generate funds for their families. We will provide the women with sewing machines, materials and the equipment necessary so that they can make small crafts, jewellery, clothing, school uniforms and other tailored items. We will teach the women how to run their business, how to keep records of their accounts, so that once the cooperative is generating income they will be able to manage this themselves.

In addition we will use the centre to hold talks on HIV as well as general nutrition for mothers and their babies. We will also support the women and their families in finding out their HIV status; ensuring that they have access to HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT).

The centre will be built at the same site as A Escolinaha de Boa Esperanca. The building will be a similar structure to the classroom at the pre-school, previously built by THAF in 2009. The centre will have a main room from where the ladies will sit with their machines and a smaller room that will serve as a resource room.

We hope to raise enough funds to provide five sewing machines for the centre. There will be enough tables and chairs for ten ladies to sit and sew or make crafts from. The resource centre will provide a secure space for all the materials and finished crafts to be stored.

To build the centre and set up the cooperative with the necessary machines and equipment will cost $20,000. We appreciate any support that you are able to give, to help us have a real impact on the lives of the women in Mahaque.

To make a donation or to find out more contact Lucy Pollock - lucy@africanencounter.org

www.happyafricafoundation.org

Community Families, Mahaque, Vilankulo

2010-04-30T13:19:00.007+02:00

Working at the pre-school in Mahaque we recognise there is a real need in the community to support local families; many of whom are living in basic conditions, struggling to bring up children with the impact of HIV and AIDS but desperate to educate and equip themselves with skills so that they can begin to change their situation independently. We aim to empower families with knowledge and skills that will help to improve their health, education and employment opportunities. Ultimately we believe this will help to have a hugely positive effect not just on individual families but on the community as a whole. With the help of local resident, Sofia and the Secretary of the Bairro of Mahaque we are able to identify families that we believe are in greatest need and who will benefit the most from our support. After a family has been identified, we visit their home three times a week for one month.

HIV awareness

We talk with the family and help to educate them about HIV and AIDS, prevention and treatment. We will also ensure that all of the family has access to free testing to find out their HIV status. Many people who live with HIV are too afraid to get tested because of fear and ignorance and so fall ill quickly.

Craft making

To help give families the opportunities to support themselves we are teaching them skills that they can use to make a small income. We teach crafts and jewellery making to the women and show them new ways to create items, allowing them to differentiate their crafts from other sellers at the market. These will of course be available for volunteers to buy, as a special keepsake of the time they spent here! We will provide each family with the raw materials necessary to start up their small business.

Farming

We will help the family to prepare their land; assisting them with clearing, planting and weeding. In addition we will supply the materials so that they can build a small stall, from where they can sell their produce. Once they start to make a profit they will be able to put this back into their business to buy more materials.

Life skills

We discuss health and nutrition, to help them to understand how they can keep their family healthy. Where possible we also help to improve their employment opportunities; developing their CVs and helping them to write cover letters to companies.

To make a donation or to find out more contact Lucy Pollock - lucy@africanencounter.org

www.happyafricafoundation.com

A Escolinha de Boa Esperanca Farming Project

2010-04-30T12:02:00.012+02:00

Approximately 70 children aged from three to six attend the small pre-school of A Escolinha de Boa Esperanca. The pre-school is one of only three in the area and provides essential early education to the local children.

African Impact started supporting the school after Cyclone Favio caused devastation throughout the town in 2007.

The school staff team is small; the two teachers Deolinda and Zelia and 24 hour guard and handy man, Lourenco.

The school’s vegetable garden is small and the few vegetables produced are used for the children’s lunch. But it isn’t enough.

The Happy Africa Foundation plans to develop the farm further so it can support the school all year round; provid

ing food for the children and generating valuable income for the school. Ultimately, helping the school towards its goal of self-sufficiency and ensuring that it has a sustainable future.

We want to grow plants and vegetables that are traditionally cultivated in Mozambique; such as the matapa plant and peanuts. Matapa and peanuts form one of the traditional Mozambican dishes and it is well loved by locals. We will grow beans, tomatoes, onions and carrots that will supplement the rice for the children’s lunch, ensuring they are getting important protein in their daily diet.

In addition we want to build a chicken coup and fence off an area so that the school can keep chickens and goats. We will then be able to make goat’s cheese to sell locally and the school will have a continuous supply of eggs!

We hope to raise enough funds to be able provide: seeds, farming tools (hoes, rakes, spades etc), fencing around the perimeter of the farm (to keep out the many animals that wander freely and to keep the chickens and goats in!) as well as shade netting (to protect the plants under the intense African sun). We will also need to build a small stall so that the vegetables and meat can be sold from there. The expected costs of the project will be approximately $10,000.

All help toward the project will help us to make a lasting impact on the community and will be hugely appreciated by the parents and children of A Escolinha de Boa Esperanca.

To make a donation or to find out more contact Lucy Pollock - lucy@africanencounter.org

www.happyafricafoundation.org

Health Week at Preschool

2010-04-19T15:00:00.004+02:00

From the 12^th – 16^th April was Health Week in Vilanculos. With prior warning to the local community two doctors came to the preschool. It was a fantastic turn out of mothers with their children. The volunteers organised the children that attend our preschool in a large circle inside our classroom. Under the guidance of Deolinda and Zelia the volunteers helped administer a Vitamin B tablet to each child. The doctors meanwhile gave each mother a tetanus injection.

Tour of Vilanculos Hospital & Volunteers Giving Blood

2010-04-19T14:37:00.004+02:00

Volunteers had an interesting and eye-opening tour of Vilanculos’ hospital. Warmly greeted by the doctor in charge, volunteers had the opportunity to see the inner workings of the hospital and see the examination rooms, labour ward, and laboratories. One of the most interesting aspects was touring the tents set-up after the cyclone damage in 2007. After the tour, six volunteers generously donated a pint of blood to aid the severely depleted blood reserves. Our translator Ricardo was a master at calming nervous volunteers and the juice boxes served after were a highlight of everyone’s day.

Testing Day with Pedro at Vilanculos Hospital

2010-04-12T09:06:00.001+02:00

The volunteers also had the opportunity to work with Pedro a doctor working with HIV/AIDS patients at Vilanculos Hospital. The volunteers experienced first hand the procedure of someone coming in to be tested (as well as getting tested themselves!) and the aftermath care and counselling for those that were positive. This amounted to a really informative and humbling experience for the volunteers involved.

HIV/AIDS Testing day with CARE at Pembara

2010-04-12T08:57:00.002+02:00

In addition with working with Sofia the volunteers had the opportunity to work with CARE International on one of their testing days in the community. On this occasion it was just out of Vilanculos at Pembara. This was a great opportunity to see how testing for HIV/AIDS is accepted by the community. With the help of dvds based around HIV/AIDS, true and false games, acting out situation with dolls as well as stories the volunteers entertained and educated those waiting to be tested. In total CARE tested 30 people. There was a great deal of positive feedback from CARE and the community so the day was a great success.

HIV project with Sofia's Family

2010-04-11T16:34:00.018+02:00

An HIV Project has been created to work one-on-one with a family. The most delightful family was found – Sofia, an HIV positive woman, and her daughter and two sons, one of which has a girlfriend and young daughter living in the home. Given how taboo the subject is in Vilanculos, it was fantastic to find such a remarkable woman who was so open with her situation. After a couple weeks of discussion, education and awareness around HIV/AIDS the volunteers asked the family if they would be willing to go for an HIV test. Much to our delight, they eagerly agreed and all were overjoyed when the results came back negative.

In addition to the counselling and education, volunteers have also provided tangible support in the form of assisting the family prepare seed beds and plant this year’s crop and build a new home for the family. Volunteers just finished putting on the roof last week it was amazing to see so much progress in such a short time. The aim for the future is that Sofia and her family will use the help that they have been given to develop the farm further to enable them to sell the produce and have an income.

What a turnout for Edson's English!

2010-04-11T16:22:00.004+02:00

The Edson’s English Class has shifted sites to the Catholic Church just up the road, offering more space and an indoor option in case of rain. Registration was immensely popular – over 100 students enrolled in total! Numbers got so large we actually had to close registration to new applicants, a tremendous testimony to last year’s volunteers creating such a positive vibe in the community – well done all! Two beginner sections and one intermediate section have been created with a number of returning students from last year.

A new school year at Preschool

2010-04-11T16:14:00.007+02:00

The new preschool year was welcomed with great enthusiasm from the students. A strong contingent of 60 kids show up every morning anxious to play and learn with the volunteers. Thursday trips to the beach continue to be highlight of everyone’s week. Land has been cleared and seeds planted for the new crop of tomato, carrot, cabbage and onion. We, with the trusted help of Lourenco, have started harvesting peanuts and are using them to add some protein to the children's lunchtime rice.

Aguia Negra - Our New Home!

2010-04-11T15:37:00.007+02:00

March has been an exciting month for AI-Mozambique. After closing for three months during the Christmas holiday, we welcomed our first volunteers at our beautiful new Aguia Negra home. The new site provides a scenic pool overlooking the coast, regular electricity, and close proximity to preschool. It was a delight to have each and every one of the twelve volunteers in March. They who worked strongly together as a group both on projects and socially.

Esperança Venâcio Nhamirre

2009-12-29T13:34:00.005+02:00

Esperança Venâcio Nhamirre

26/05/1979 – 14/11/2009

Esperança was born in Chirroula, a small town north of Vilanculos, to parents Venâcio and Julieta.While her father had other children she was her mother’s only child. She moved to Vilanculos to attend school and met her husband Alfredo. Together they had 6 children; Fiona, Edson, Erca, Sharmilla and Olencia who are twins, and Chris who was only born in October 2008.

Esperança worked at A Escola de Boa Esperança for 6 years, she was an extremely dedicated mother and loved working with children. She had the most genuine and caring personality, an innocent smile and infectious laugh that lit up her whole face. Sadly, she fell ill in September and despite all efforts to get her better she passed away peacefully at her parents home on Saturday 14^th November 2009.

She will be sorely missed by the whole of the Mahaque and Chirroula community, but will stay in our hearts forever and be remembered as the joyous and caring mother she was.

Success with the Edson's English Group

2009-10-09T09:25:00.006+02:00

We're so proud to post about how well the students from the Cafe Edson's English lessons are doing with their studies. We continue to work with the students divided between a lower level and upper level, which has opened up so many interesting and fun teaching methods. The lower level has been focusing on small group work thanks to our high volunteer numbers here on the ground. The results have been remarkable and the volunteers have done a brilliant job of planning fun and stimulating lessons for the group.

Our upper level group has also been doing fantastically. They reached a major milestone a couple of months ago when nearly the entire class passed an exam that officially moved them on to the Intermediate TEFL coursebook. This is such an achievement for the group and we are constantly astounded by their dedication and wit. Just the other day when discussing a story about earthquakes, we paused to clarify that the class was all familiar with the term "earthquake". Not only did the class scoff at our underestimation of their vocabulary, but Helton went even further to clarify that an earthquake is (and I quote....) "the tectonic movement of the earth's plates under our feet". WOW!

Just to show you how well the class is doing, we wanted to share a free-writing piece that came in from student Samuel. Samuel is a secondary school student and has been attending our lessons for about a year. While a bit shy in person, his written work excels and upon reading it we were all touched and astounded by his skill. The writing assignment was in response to a short story called "Pass It On", presented by volunteers Kate, Elizabeth, Rob, Larissa, and Kate. The story spoke of spontaneous good deeds and the way in which generosity always finds a way to be passed on to others. The students were asked to write about a time that they "passed it on". You can read Samuel's story below.

Open Your Heart: Story of how I helped someone find his way in life again

Loving yourself or your neighbor does not mean loving certain people only. It means you should open your heart and a place where those who need help are looked after to people from all walks of life. Four years ago, there was a knock on my door, and when I answered a young man stood there, his head and face covered in blood. I led him inside and cleaned his wounds. After I had given him something to eat he told me that he lived at Maxixe and that when things went wrong with the business, they would take it out on him. On many occasions after that he would come to me with fresh stab wounds that I would tend to because he had no family here in Vilanculos.

After four years of nagging, and four years of being brutally assaulted, I think he had finally had enough of being someone’s punching bag. He came to me one morning and give me his sister’s address in Beira. I wrote to her and two weeks later his aunt phoned me. She told me that her nephew had disappeared five years before and that his family had thought was dead. We made some arrangements for his family to fetch him. When his three aunts arrived a few days later to take him home, it only then struck me that I would never see him again. I felt sad because he had become part of our family.

But I also know that once he arrived home and saw his familiar surroundings that it would click that he really was home after six years and it wasn’t all a dream. I am so proud that I could be part of the Pintos Family reunion and that my heart was open to a friend in need.

Keeping Vilanculos clean and the community involved

2009-09-22T13:48:00.006+02:00

Taking in the view that gets us inspired to clean trash!

This past Saturday, September 19^th was International Clean Beach day. To do our part, our 12 enthusiastic volunteers planned a really special beach clean up morning that we conducted with the Language Club group.

We met under the big tree as always and volunteer Evan gave a great motivational intro about the morning’s program and why it’s important for us to keep Vilanculos’ beaches clean. The community here relies so much on the sea both for sustenance and tourism, so the message was definitely well received by everyone. We handed out home-made noisemakers and paraded through the community down to the beach at Baobab, picking up lots of new friends along the way!

Once we arrived to the beach our numbers had skyrocketed from about 30 children to over 100! We split up into red, green and blue teams with the volunteers and older students from Language Club acting as very motivational team captains. Each team was given trash bags and the team with the most full bags at the finish line (camp) won.

Volunteer Elizabeth from America getting one of her teammates a blue armband

Within an hour, the teams had managed to fill 25 huge trash bags! The whole morning was such a raging success and we celebrated at the end with a massive song and dance circle. We are definitely going to plan more mornings like this in the future all around Vilanculos since it was so well received. Well done to all involved and the volunteers who put in so much effort to make the morning such a success!

Volunteers, team captains, Eduardo and Ricardo at the finish line

Our hard-working teammates and a few of the many

full trash bags collected by the end of the morning

The AI Moz family continues to grow

2009-09-22T13:35:00.003+02:00

As our project portfolio continues to grow with the addition of the HIV Education workshops, it was clear to us that we would need to bring on some extra support for translation. We were so lucky to find this support in the form of Ricardo Tembe, who has joined us as a translator in addition to everyone’s favorite fellow, Eduardo. They work together to support the volunteers’ involvement at preschool and while Eddie continues to work with the Edson’s English groups and building project, Ricardo focuses on the HIV workshops.

Ricardo’s brilliant English and ease with people is far from the only thing he’s got going for him. His face is very well known around Vilanculos as a recorded artist of traditional Mozambican music. He has even had music videos recorded in Maputo! Ricardo’s passion for music has lent itself so well to facilitating the HIV workshops, the goal of which is to get people to respond to the taboo subject of HIV/AIDS through creative and unusual media.

As embarrassing as it is to admit, for the month after Ricardo started working with us we drove around town consistently blaring his CD from our car. People were often surprised to look up and see the man himself, Ricardo Tembe, sitting atop a strange white safari-truck blasting Mozambican Marimba music. While the novelty of getting to work with such a great creative spirit such as Ricardo has certainly not worn off, we have managed to get a better grip on ourselves about it (as well as the volume knob).

Ricardo has also really enjoyed getting to know the children at the preschool, especially his little favorite, Creusia!

Our Green Thumb

2009-09-16T16:59:00.003+02:00

The king of the crop: the preschool guard Lourenco lounges amongst his bounty

With the winter in Mozambique coming to an end it’s time to write about the amazing harvest of the preschool farm. For many months upwards of 40 volunteers contributed to the clearing, hoeing, raking, planting, and weeding of the farm at the preschool. We’re so proud to let you all know how bountifully all the hard work has paid off. For the last two months we have been able to include veggies ranging amongst lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, and carrots in the kids’ lunch.

We were nervous at first about the kids’ reaction to the introduction of flecks of green and red in the previously monochrome rice. To our surprise and delight the kids dove into their bowls of rice with more vigor than ever! A cheeky few (Nelson and Paulo amongst them) made their objection to the rice revolution known by diligently picking out anything that lacked resemblance to a kernel of rice. Thankfully though, it seems they’ve warmed to the new menu and in recent weeks we’ve even served mixed salads along with the rice.

So, a huge thank you to all of the volunteers who put in lots of time and sweat in the unforgiving Mozambican sun to make this farm happen! The farm also wouldn’t have been possible without the support lent by the teachers and the parents of the preschool children. We were so encouraged by the parents’ willingness to come in for a couple of hours a week to work on the farm and it definitely strengthened the sense of shared responsibility between the parents and ourselves for the well being of the preschool and the students.

We can’t wait to see what next year’s crop will look like!

Welcome Poppy

2009-09-16T16:12:00.006+02:00

July brought many new and exciting things to us here in Vilanculos… One of these was the first few beads of sweat on our brow as winter’s comfortable chill lifted and made way for the swelter of Mozambican summer. The other, and much more welcome one was Poppy Clarke, our new Project Manager!

Esther and Chris will be leaving the project at the end of September and Poppy has been here in Mozambique for the last 6 weeks training and completing the handover of things. Poppy was a volunteer from March to May of this year and we knew as soon as we met her that her vision for the projects and tireless energy would provide great leadership for all of the projects here in Vilanculos.

Poppy and Chico in his black tie finest

Poppy showed great initiative as a volunteer in pioneering many individual projects, such as teaching the housekeeping ladies how to read and write as part of Language Club. Poppy loved having the freedom to work on individual projects as well as delving into the diverse array of scheduled projects. It was this dual sense of constant fulfillment and limitless opportunities for new project work that grabbed her about the project here in Mozambique. As a manager, she hopes to facilitate similar experiences and the ensuing sense of accomplishment and joy that she experienced as a volunteer.

So, welcome to Mozambique Poppy! We can’t wait to see how the projects move from strength to strength under your guidance as well as the new and creative endeavors that you are sure to undertake towards the support of this amazing and vibrant community.

HIV Project up and running at the speed of light!

2009-07-15T09:56:00.006+02:00

A bit of a delayed post... but so newsworthy I still had to get it up!

The first two weeks of June saw the official opening of the HIV Education project here in Vilanculos. The project runs alongside the Teaching English project and volunteers from both projects attend the preschool together in the mornings. In the afternoons they split up into their specialization of HIV Education or Teaching English at Cafe Edson's.

The HIV Education is structured as a two-week workshop consisting of 4 two-hour sessions. The workshops aims to not only to provide information about the biology of HIV/AIDS and how to protect yourself, but also to really encourage the group members to speak openly about the controversy and taboo around the subject. The activities are meant to really get the group members out of their shells and ranges amongst educational (but fun!) DVD's, interactive theater, art creation and interpretation, and educational games.

We kicked off the first session with the staff members of our volunteer camp, about 15 people in total. Our volunteers at the time were Laurie, Joe, Charissa, and Ineke. As the guinea-pig leaders of the new project, they did such a brilliant job in pulling everything together and presenting it in an accessible, fun, and informative manner. We were nervous that our audience wouldn't be too enthused or perhaps a bit intimidated by the interactive theater and art creation, but we couldn't have been farther off base!

I think all of our lingering nerves and trepidation were assuaged when Samuel, one of our volunteer cooks, arrived at the second session with a special request. He asked if we could save some time at the end of the session because he had been inspired to write a song about HIV/AIDS since the first meeting of our group. At the end of the session, Samuel began to sing with the rest of us keeping rhythm. Despite the lyrics in Xitsua (the local dialect of our area) the power and emotion in the air was palpable and it was clear to all of us that we were part of something so special and moving that it couldn't be put into words of any language. Jorge, our gardener, kept a rhythmic baseline chorus of "use a condom, use a condom, use a condom" which brought wide smiles to all of our faces when it was audible below Samuel's Xitsua verses.

Another highlight of the session included a homework assignment requiring the group members to bring in an artifact or object that had some relation to the theme of HIV/AIDS. We weren't sure if the group members would feel comfortable sharing such potentially personal information and it wasn't obligatory. Our fears were once again swept away by the outpouring of emotion that each staff member presented in relation to their "object". One particularly moving presentation revolved around a letter that one of the staff members, Joao, had received from his girlfriend. He told us the story of how they met about three years ago. After being together for a little while, he breached the topic of going to the hospital together to get HIV tests. Apparently his girlfriend had a real problem with this whether out of fear or perhaps a misguided feeling of betrayal because Joao didn’t trust her fidelity. It lead to a break-up. After nearly a year, Joao received a letter from her that he read to the whole group. In the letter she apologized for not having understood the importance of testing but that she now knows the Joao was suggesting the correct course of action. In the letter she included the slip of paper that the hospital gives out with the written result of your HIV test. She asked Joao if having seen that paper, he would be willing to take her back. Joao was proud to announce that they’ve been together happily and faithfully since then.

In the picture below, you can see Samuel, Joao, and Orlando sitting with our sex education dolls “Juan” and “Sylvia”. Juan and Sylvia are made in central Mozambique by a women’s empowerment through employment program called the TIOS Center. The dolls are very, very (!) anatomically correct and also include allusions to HIV transmission methods other than sex (i.e. a tattoo and an open wound). Juan and Sylvia have been a great hit in the sessions and can always be counted on to throw the group into fits of laughter as they learn.

We have also been using theater to open up the group to talking about HIV/AIDS. The method of Forum Theater has long been advocated as an effective and fun way of tackling controversial issues in an educational setting. For our workshop, the volunteers put together a short skit about HIV/AIDS. Forum theater skits are always comprised of at least two people, one is an oppressor and the other is the oppressed. After presenting the skit to the group members, a narrator turns the tables and asks the group members if they would like to enter the action and replace one of the characters to re-run the scene. In this way, the group members are able to use the knowledge they have gained in the session about HIV/AIDS to ameliorate the behaviors, actions, and decisions presented in the original skit.

Forum Theater has been a massive hit in our group. As a cornerstone of our workshops, we believe strongly in the power of theater to encourage people to turn thought into action. It’s all well and good for individuals to be able to recite the X number of transmission methods, but if you can give a young woman the opportunity through theater to actually practice saying “no” to a man who wants her to have sex without a condom it’s a whole other story! In the photo below, you’ll see Samuel and Jorge after they have entered into the Forum Theater action. The play was about Anita (Samuel) and Pedro, a married couple. In the original play, Anita broached the subject of condom use and Pedro vehemently negated the possibility, lashing out in an emotionally and physically violent manner. In Samuel and Jorge’s modification, Anita actually manages to convince Pedro to try it and see what he thinks.

The picture below shows the group members creating personal artistic responses to the theme of HIV/AIDS in the last session of the workshop.

Inviting the group members to create art is a lovely way to end the workshop because of its informal and open-ended nature. In the western world we’re all very familiar with the idea of artistic expression and could ramble off a million justifications for the necessity of art in schools, for example, to aid with personal development and expression. The Mozambican government however, likely due to lack of funds, isn’t able to offer any sort of art program in its primary or secondary schools. To see the group members touch paint to paper for perhaps the first time is a truly special moment. After 45 minutes of painting, gluing, and glittering our way into self-expression about HIV/AIDS. We came back together for the last time as a group to present what we had all created and to discuss our interpretation of it as well as welcoming other group member’s interpretations. The range of thought and emotion amongst the creations was amazing and once again affirmed our belief in the power of art for self-expression and growth.

We’re so proud of this beautiful project and can’t wait to be part of its development throughout the Vilanculos community. We’ll keep you updated on highlights of other upcoming sessions. Next up are the parents of the kids at preschool!

We would love your feedback and ideas as well about how we could make this workshop even more dynamic and effective. We actually hope that it’s constantly evolving and just getting better and better, so bring on the feedback!

Bittersweet times...

2009-06-15T09:58:00.002+02:00

As many of you know, dear Jude will be leaving us this week. She is expecting her first child in December of this year and will go back to the UK for the remainder of the pregnancy and the birth. Jude's plans are to come back to Vilanculos near the beginning of next year, though unfortunately as a full-time Mommy and not with African Impact.

As sad as we are to see Jude go, we are so excited for the new adventure of motherhood she is about to undertake. As you all know, Jude's dedication to and passion for children has been one of the driving forces behind the success and development of this amazing project. Esther and Nix will remain in Vilanculos and do our best to carry on the brilliant projects that Jude has done so much to develop and nurture.

So, as we fight through a heap of bittersweet emotions in trying to write this post, we want to wish Jude and her budding new family all the best of luck. She will be so missed but the hard work and passion she put into these projects will be evident to us every day as we continue on.

Thank you Jude!

Dia das Criancas

2009-06-08T10:08:00.004+02:00

June 1 is National Children's Day here in Mozambique. It's so amazing to see a community come together and rally around its youth in an outpouring of support and praise.

To celebrate the day with our littlies at the preschool we put together an assembly for the parents of the school. Our amazing volunteers helped the kids put together a banner with the school's name and all the kiddies hand prints. They also put together special t-shirts for the special 10 star-students that were selected to represent the school in our little sing-along presentation.

The kids sang so well. A particular crowd favorite was the theme-song that Zelia, Deolinda, and Esperanca wrote about the preschool complete with dance moves and all!

New Classroom!!!

2009-06-08T10:00:00.003+02:00

We are so happy and proud to announce that we’ve officially held our first lesson in the new classroom at school! A million thanks to the number of donors who contributed to the funding for the classroom.

We’re so relieved to know that rain or shine our kiddies will be able to have their lessons. The kids LOVE the new classroom and we’re so excited when we set the tables up in there for the first time!

Our current volunteers are working on a plan to paint the classroom's concrete wall. We're hoping to order blackboard paint from South Africa in order to turn almost the whole wall into a usable blackboard space!

Sponsor a Child!

2009-05-11T09:19:00.004+02:00

Hurrah! Sponsor A Child is up and running in Mozambique!

Inacio Lorenzo's Sponsorship Profile

We here on the ground have selected a group of about 15 children to be eligible for sponsorship that are particularly vulnerable based upon concerns about their health or their family's ability to provide for them adequately. We know these children and their families through the preschool and Bairo Desse, the zone in which our camp is located.

We have chosen to launch SAC with the children that we feel are most in need of immediate support. Once these children have all been sponsored, we plan on making sponsorship available for all of the children at the preschool. However, it's our priority to get this first group of children sponsored!

Once a child is sponsored, we will use the funds to provide them with 1 year’s education, 2 x school uniforms, 2 x school shoes, 1 x school sweater, 1 x raincoat, health checks, a year’s supply of vitamins B and C, text books and a stationery pack. Funds for sponsorship are moved through the Happy Africa Foundation, our sister charity based in the UK. We have chosen to move donations through the HAF in order to keep it separate from the money that goes towards the general operations of camp and the projects. That means that if you sponsor a child, your donation will go directly to the child you have sponsored.

Here is the link for Sponsor A Child in Mozambique with the Happy Africa Foundation.

If you have any questions about sponsorhip or would like to sponsor a child, please email Lucy, the head of the Happy Africa Foundation, at lucy@africanencounter.org

Language Club

2009-05-04T10:01:00.004+02:00

Language club continues to go so, so well. The young children's lesson has been hosting up to 50 children recently and the soccer boys have been making great strides with their English.

Some of you may remember one of our cleaning ladies from camp, Cecilia. She, along with her colleagues Maria and Julia, have also recently started coming to Language Club. One of our volunteers, Poppy, has dedicated herself to teaching Cecilia how to read and write. It's so great to see a volunteer identify a need and then respond to it by using free time to put together learning resources and special lesson plans. It's always our goal to facilitate any sort of side project that a volunteer conceives and would like to see through to fruition.

We've already seen great improvement in Cecilia's letter recognition skills and manual dexterity. She has set herself the goal of signing her full name (instead of an "x") on May's wages slip. We know that with her hard work and Poppy's dedication to teaching, she'll achieve that goal!

Eddie's Bike!

2009-04-29T14:33:00.001+02:00

Thanks to generous donations from a number of past volunteers, we've been able to get our translator extroardinaire Eduardo a new bike to use to get around between all of the projects!

We gave Eddie the bike the day before his birthday and we wish you all could have been here to see the massive grin that came over his face when we snuck him into the bike shop! Now it will be so much easier for Eduardo to get around between the projects and back home to his lovely family lickity split.

Thanks so much to those of you who reached out to help make this possible for Eddie.

Welcome!

2009-04-28T15:51:00.001+02:00

Hello All!

We're so excited to be launching our very own blog here in Mozambique to keep you all updated on the projects, your donations, and all the goings on in Vilanculos.

We'll be updating the site as much as we can and it's the best way for us to stay in touch with past volunteers, new volunteers, and people that are interested in learning more about the projects.

We're quite new at all this new darn-fangled technology stuff (ok... well maybe blogging isn't that new) but please bear with us as we start getting it under our belts. If there's ever anything specific you'd like to hear about such as one of the little ones from preschool or a donation, please comment away and we'll post back as soon as we can.

All our love from Moz and until next time,
Esther

African Impact Mozambique

My Culture Days By Chloe Grandidge

Edson's English by Lies ter Braak

My Pre-School Experience By Runa Aarre Sommarset

Projects Update

Escolinha is re-opened!

Update

Kareema's New House Is Completed

Storeroom at Escolinha Completed

Escolinha's New Mural

Finally.....Chicken Tractor is Completed!

Escolinha Logo Designed by Volunteer

Friday October 15th- HIV/ AIDs Awareness Day

Beautiful poem written by one of our advanced Edson's students

Health Awareness Day

Art Day (Thursday 16th September 2010)

New Bikes and Uniform for all African Impact Staff!

Completed Building Project...New toilets at Pre-school!

*New Project* English Club

Mozambique Victory Art Day

HIV/AIDS Awareness Project

African Impact Mozambique on YouTube!

Road Safety Day

Water Awareness Day....What A Success!

Care's Support

A New Roof on the Preschool!

Esperanca’s Children’s’ House

HIV Project Impacts the Secondary School!

Keeping Fit and Having Fun on Sports Day

Art Day at Preschool - Mozambican Independence Day Theme

Children’s Day with CARE International

HIV Testing at Escolinha de Boa Esperanca

Welcome Kerrie, our new Volunteer Coordinator!

The Orphanage

Seventeen Children Sponsored!

Football Mozambique Style!

Mahaque Women’s Cooperative, HIV Project

Community Families, Mahaque, Vilankulo

A Escolinha de Boa Esperanca Farming Project

Health Week at Preschool

Tour of Vilanculos Hospital & Volunteers Giving Blood

Testing Day with Pedro at Vilanculos Hospital

HIV/AIDS Testing day with CARE at Pembara

HIV project with Sofia's Family

What a turnout for Edson's English!

A new school year at Preschool

Aguia Negra - Our New Home!

Esperança Venâcio Nhamirre

Success with the Edson's English Group

Keeping Vilanculos clean and the community involved

The AI Moz family continues to grow

Our Green Thumb

Welcome Poppy

HIV Project up and running at the speed of light!

Bittersweet times...

Dia das Criancas

New Classroom!!!

Sponsor a Child!

Language Club

Eddie's Bike!

Welcome!

New Project English Club