Building a future for Mozambique
Case study
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Jim Rebbechi had never been out of Victoria, or in an aeroplane, before becoming an Australian Volunteer Abroad (AVA). His older sister had worked in Papua New Guinea and he had enjoyed her stories of helping people improve their lives. Jim applied to Australian Volunteers International.
Mozambique is located on southern Africa's largest coastal plain, cut by the Zambesi River. Approximately 93 per cent of Mozambicans live largely traditional lifestyles in small villages spread across the country. The villages follow the traditional model of houses surrounding a central meeting area or cattle kraal. Crops are grown outside the village. The river divides the country in terms of farming methods and some cultural beliefs. To the north, most cultural groups constantly move to find new farmlands; to the south, most Mozambicans tend to stay in the one place. Growing crops and raising livestock have always been the main daily activities. Many cultural groups also have long histories of warfare with neighbours.
Mozambique also has a long history of control by peoples from outside the country, especially Arabs, Persians and Portuguese. Before arriving in Mozambique, Jim was first sent to Lisbon, in Portugal, to learn Portuguese, one of the main languages spoken in Mozambique. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony for nearly 500 years and, in earlier times, had made Portugal rich, through gold, spices, dried fish, wine and salt, as well as the trade in hundreds of thousands of slaves, for work in Portugal and Europe. When Portugal left in 1975, Mozambique was very poor, yet before a new government could start to rebuild the country, internal struggles developed into civil war.
After 16 years of the fighting, the country was near exhaustion. Many buildings, including schools and hospitals, had been needlessly destroyed. Roads and railways had been wrecked. Water wells had been filled in. The country was heavily-landmined. Crops had been destroyed or could not be planted. Hardly any doctors, teachers, officials or tradespeople who could help the country were left. Children were lucky to be educated to the age of eight. Disease and hunger were widespread. In Lichinga, the capital of Niassa province where Jim first worked, there were only three doctors for 600,000 people.
Jim worked as a builder with the Ministry of Construction and Water in Niassa, and later with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Tete Province. In both places, his role was to train and coordinate local people in constructing new buildings, especially schools. Cement bricks were to be made on site. Desks and chairs were also to be built. At one stage, Jim had a team of sixty local people working on several schools.
In Niassa, there was no electricity. Everything was done by hand, in daylight. Also, not far from Lichinga, fighting continued until late 1992. Gunfire could be heard at night, and Lichinga came under attack. Because of the fighting, it was impossible to reach people in rural areas, so all building sites were within walking distance or a short motorbike ride. Longer travel was in armoured vehicles in military convoy. This included transport of building materials and equipment. Many items never reached their destinations.
Work at Tete Province was a bit different. It was much hotter than Niassa, with high humidity and temperatures often reaching 44°. Jim had a UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) vehicle to transport him between projects which would sometimes be an uncomfortable day's travel apart.
One of the first things Jim noticed in Mozambique was the difficult lifestyle of many women and girls. Every day, they perform most of the work. They are 60 per cent of Mozambique's farmers. Tilling soil, sowing seeds, weeding, caring for crops and harvesting them, they also pound, dry or process the food and cook it. They store, sell or trade what is left over, raise their children almost single-handed, and do all household jobs, such as walking long distances to collect water from wells or wood for fires.
With few books and no television, children were very good at entertaining themselves. Some boys made soccer balls out of paper or plastic wrapped tightly, sometimes in a banana leaf, with string. Girls played a type of brandy where the girl in the middle, apart from dodging a ball, had to fill a bottle with sand. If the bottle was filled before the girl was hit, she was safe. Girls also played hopscotch and skipped, but most of all, they played with dolls, more than Jim had ever seen in Australia. The dolls were always white, except when a Victorian doll-maker decided to make and send black dolls to some of the children. The black dolls have been very popular.
Jim's contract had been for two years, but he stayed for five. This was because of his enjoyment in working with local people and watching their pleasure as their country began to grow again. His workers took great care and pride in building things, and talk about the buildings became an important part of people's lives. Jim was amazed by the strength of the people and how they could try to forget the past and often laugh so freely.
Although there is much to be done, Mozambique is showing some good signs of recovery. In and around Maputo, new apartments have been built, and lively cafes and open air markets, piled with vegetables and crafts, bring people together with confidence and new hope.
Back at Warrandyte, Jim lays another tile on the roof, remembers these positive images of Mozambique, and wonders how many dolls he will take on this trip.
The Australian Voluteers program receives funding assistance from the Australian Government through the Australian Government's overseas aid program, and is managed by Australian Volunteers International.
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