Monday Meeting Day

Monday is the day all the staff stays at home base for meetings instead of going out into communities.   I attended the meeting this morning, which was a lot of fun.   I also had an epiphany about what I can teach the staff here.   They are such incredibly smart and talented people, and most of them deeply and truly understand the mission of Care For Life and why it is so important.  They are here for the right reason and they have excellent ideas. I'm excited and lucky to be a part of their incredibly important work.

Teaching English class using Paradise by Coldplay

Saturday Morning in Ngupa

stick shift truck + Mozambique = hold on! :)

Teaching the kids Duck Duck Goose

Dook, Dook, Toose!

Me teaching some boys how to make a
grasshopper out of a palm frond

Boys teaching me how to make a mini-windmill

Everybody in Africa loves being in a picture!

Care For Life

The mission and structure of Care For Life is truly inspired.  When Care For Life enters a village, they invite the community to chose leaders from among their neighbors.   Then the field officers work with those leaders to help each family set goals (for example, go to school, send children to school, get HIV tested,  improve your house, build a latrine, drink treated water, build a dishes rack, plant a garden, start a small business, etc).   Every 6 months, as they complete goals, they earn rewards like cement that they can use to build a latrine or improve their house.  The thing is all about empowering the villagers with knowledge and skills so that they can continue once Care For Live leaves the village.

Last year I was working with the Income Generation part of the Family Preservation Program (see previous blog post).  This year I'm here with a broader focus on evaluation and leadership training.   In that vein, I felt the best thing I could do this first week is observe.  So I've spent the last two days out in the field with the coordinators, supervisors, and field officers of Care For Life, experiencing their work, hearing their stories, and seeing the change that Care For Life can make.

Community Meeting at the machessa

I walked with Melo, Children Supervisor, and saw his passion for working with children and helping others work with children.  I walked with Chicala, Field Officer, and saw how he calmly worked with the leaders of his area to address problems faced by the families there.  I walked with Carlos, Community Participation Supervisor, who had great ideas on how to serve the most needy in the villages, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly.   Today I walked with Cremildo, Agriculture Supervisor, and shared his excitement for the creation of gardens where there was nothing.   I walked with Regina, Field Officer, and was blown away to see that each of her families had recovered their houses with a layer of mud paint, cleaned up their yards, and were reaching their goals.

Onions and cove and tomatoes, oh my!

Banana dessert at a Chinese restaurant in Africa

Day 2 in Mozambique

HELP Team in Moto Bispo 1

Children at Moto Bispo 1

Jose, Me, Marco, Victor, and Joaquim

Playing Soccer at Lee Orphanage

Day 1 in Mozambique

Well, if you didn't know already, I'm in Mozambique!  I got here yesterday afternoon after two days of airports and airplanes. It was eerie and awesome how at home I felt. It felt as though I hadn't left--I know the house, the kitchen, the road, the potholes. I know not to turn the hot water knob too far or it will fall off, and go easy on the toilet paper or else. I know the Care For Life staff, the huts, the humanitarian projects, and the camaraderie that is so strong in a team working hard toward a meaningful goal.  

I had a great conversation today with one of the other volunteers about how some experiences, often those on your mission for example, are so powerful and unique that you cannot explain them adequately for others.   I feel like Africa is also one of these experiences.   It is truly incredible and life-changing and wonderful.  I cannot wait to find out what I discover about the world, about life, and about myself this time.

We went into the villages to teach sewing today.   I worked with Jose (pronounced HOE-ZAY) and Isaias (EE-ZIY-EE-UZ) to sew their backpacks.  I love sitting with the kids, especially the older ones, and talking with them.   I think they're a bit taken back by this tall white muzungo (Portuguese for gringo) who comes into their village and starts chatting it up.   But by the end, Jose was joking with me, begging to take pictures, with my camera, and asking when we would come back.  Great first day.

Isaias, Me, and Jose

25 Most Played

My Housewarming Blog Post

The latest additions to my apartment.  It feels so homey!  Also please imagine Disney music playing and delicious smells of chicken lasagna to truly get the full experience because that is my house today. :)  I love my apartment.