The Orphanage

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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.