Income Generation

Care For Life's work in Mozambique is centered around the Family Preservation Program, which helps families in rural communities with health, hygiene, cleanliness, and more. One of the areas in which Care For Life works is Income Generation--working with families to plant gardens or utilize other skills to start and maintain a small business that could bring in a little bit of extra income.

Care for Life is especially interested now in creating some sort of savings and credit program for these communities, so that the people will have a place to save money and/or take out loans for these small businesses. To give you some idea, when people try and get a loan from the bank, the interest rate can be around 40%--you borrow 100 Meticais, you have to pay back 140 next month. When they try and borrow from a neighbor or friend, the interest rate is 50%. Insane! Obviously, this deters most people from getting loans. CFL would like to make low-interest loans available to budding entrepreneurs. Part of my work here this summer is to visit the communities, talk to the people, and begin to think about what this could look like.

So for the last three days, I've been visiting communities with members of the CFL team to talk with families that already have small businesses, or would be interested in starting a small business to get a little bit of extra money. Talking with these people for even a few minutes, I am amazed, shocked, and inspired.

Albertina is an elderly woman who really wants to start a banana business--buying bananas closer to downtown and bringing them to her rural community to sell

Money needed to start her business: 100 Meticais (about $3.00)

Joana is a widow who takes care of six grandchildren because most of their mothers (her daughters) died in childbirth. The only income she has is from selling wine, which brings in about 150 MT ($5) every two weeks. Every day she travels outside of the village to tend to her garden, which is the only way she is able to take care of her family. She would love to expand her offerings to include other drinks that are in greater demand.

Money needed to expand her business: 1000 MT (about $34)

Three years ago, a Care For Life worker kept pressing Jordino to create his own business. Almost as a joke, he started selling stuff out of his front yard. Now he has a thriving corner store, where he sells oil, crackers, biscuits, drinks, detergent, and other general goods.

Money to start his business: 1250 MT ($41)

And my favorite story. Torres is the neatest 14-year-old entrepreneur. He really wanted to buy a cell phone (the model he wants costs about 1200 MT, $30), so he asked his dad for some money. He went to the beach, bought some fish, and began to sell it out of his front yard. Now he's got an income of 200 MT (about $6) about every 10 days. Now he gives money to his parents sometimes to help out. He's almost got enough saved to buy his cell phone.

Money needed to start Torres' business: 300 MT ($10)

This is incredible to me. First, it's inspiring to hear these stories and others of people starting a little business from almost nothing and creating for themselves a small but significant amount of income. What's shocking is how little is needed to help them get started ($3 for Albertina to start her banana business! $10 for Torres's fish!), but so many can't because they don't have that money, and they can't afford to borrow at the outrageous interest rates available to them. Hopefully my work with Income Generation can find ways to make credit more readily available to these wonderful entrepreneurs.

Gorongosa National Park

After visiting the boys orphanage, I thought to myself, "I can't go and just play in Gorongosa and go on a safari while these boys just stay here. I want to move in here, be their teacher, play with them, love them." But then I thought to myself, No, I need to experience all sides of Africa. And who I am to turn down the chance to safari in Africa? :)

So on Sunday we drove 5 hours Mario Kart style (weaving in and out of potholes) to Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. It was cloudy and rainy when we got there, so our plans for a sunset drive were quickly replaced with an afternoon safari. It was so Jumangi/Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. We were in this big Safari jeep, and we had to go through a gate into the deep forest of Africa, on the hunt for wild animals. Awesome!

We saw lots of warthogs, monkeys, and a variety of antelope-esque animals I didn't even know existed. Have you heard of waterbuck or nyala? Then about halfway through I spotted what I really wanted to see off in the distance. Elephants! They were close to the road, and the matriarch even charged us at one point because she was worried about her young ones. It was awesome! My other favorite part is when we we stopped to take some pictures of several monkeys about 20 yards away, and didn't even notice the warthog burrow two feet away from the jeep. They grunted, then bolted out of their hole, but not as fast as Michael Ann jumped clear across the jeep to the other side. I've never seen anyone move so fast--I couldn't stop laughing.

Our accommodations and the food were fantastic--a little African paradise in the middle of the jungle. Then the next morning bright and early at 6am, we began safari drive #2. We had a great guide, Motinho, who really knew his stuff and took us to the some great places. The highlight of this drive was the crocodiles and the African plains. At the end we came out on this large plain, and in every direction you could see heards of bushbuck, waterbuck, impala, and more. It was incredible, and just the kind of Africa experience I was hoping for.

Gorongosa is beautiful. It's an example of the natural resources and diversity that exist in Mozambique.

Isaac in Africa

As I drove out of the African village of Nhamainga this afternoon, crowded in a van full of American volunteers, I had this thought: “That was the single coolest thing I have ever done.” I had just spent two hours teaching five young African boys how to sew a drawstring backpack. It was absolutely incredible. I just sat on the ground in the community hut, and taught these amazing youngsters where to sew—most of them were already experienced at threading needles and the basic backstitch, all they lacked was materials and instruction. I can’t describe how wonderful that moment was. In an instant, I loved these kids just as much as my fourth graders. Oh, I love them!

I keep saying incredible, awesome, wonderful, but it just doesn’t do justice to the experience. I mean, I’m actually in Africa, meeting the people, hearing their stories, and giving of my time and effort to bless their lives. I’ve wanted to do this for my whole life. At the same time that it’s so completely normal that I just get in a van and go out into the field to work, it’s also completely surreal, like how could I, me, actually be living this moment as though out of a good feely movie or inspiring documentary. I love it. I love it.

That was just one of several remarkable experiences I’ve had over the last two days. On our first day out in the field, we visited a boy’s orphanage in the jungle area outside of Beira. We played soccer and volleyball with them. It was so awesome! I was talking to one of the older boys for a minute and he was telling me that a lot of the boys here actually have one or two parents, but because they didn’t have conditions to care for their child, they sent them to the orphanage. The proprietor there, an American who created this orphanage in Mozambique, pays for them to go to private school, and gives them a place to sleep and eat. The boys were so nice, and so kind. The last time they had visitors was a year ago when the Care for Life volunteers came. We only stayed two hours, but I honestly wanted to stay and just live there.

Finally, the last experience I’ll tell you about right now was at the House of Innocent Saints girls orphanage in Beira. They laid out some mats for us, and we sat outside on the dirt and made flowers out of construction paper and pipe cleaners. I sat with Rosa and Maria. Isaac, a little boy looking no older than 8, came and sat next to me. I asked him how old he was, and he said twelve. I was shocked. He also said he was in the third grade. He was from the boys orphanage down the street. We don’t volunteer there because there are 250 boys, and we don’t have enough supplies or manpower. As we drove away, I was overwhelmed by my feelings. This precious child, so kind and polite to me, without parents, without shoes. The thousands of other orphans in Mozambique that never get visited, that never get pipe cleaner flowers, that never get a loving hour of attention. I waved fervently at Isaac as we pulled out, and I swear I saw him wipe a tear away. I know I was wiping tears away.

If I left today, the experiences I have already had will have altered me forever. I have seen, with my own eyes, how some of the poorest people in the world live. I’ve talked to them, played with them, taught them, and loved them. I will never be the same.

Independence Day in Mozambique

34 hours, 3 airports, 3 airplanes, and 2 countries later, I am in Mozambique! I arrived Monday afternoon, and Chris, the team leader was at the airport to pick me up. He told me the best way to get on Mozambique time was to stay up and go to bed at the regular time. I was super tired, but I was ready to start my Africa adventure--I can't waste a day!

So after a quick tour and shower, we went downtown in the Care for Life truck. Wow, how can I convey to you everything I took in being out in Mozambique? Well, first, I love it. I was smiling the whole time, just loving everything--the people, the palm trees, the jungle, the third worldness of it all. Second, did you know people drive on the left side of the street in Mozambique? Very disconcerting to have a semi barreling toward you on "wrong" side of the street. Third, there are no traffic lights, or any traffic rules for that matter, so everyone drives like the Knight Bus from Harry Potter. Best part is, I never felt unsafe--or maybe I was too enamoured with the landscape. So we went downtown in search of nails and some food, which we purchased at a very Americanesque grocery score called Shoprite.

A Cozinha (Kitchen)

Don't forget your mosquito net!

Soon to be my bunk bed

O banheiro (bathroom)

We had plenty to do that evening. First we went to visit a family that Chris had met (he actually taught and baptized the husband Bernardo) on his mission in Mozambique. They were super nice, and we enjoyed FHE and a legitimate Mozambican dinner with them. Rice, chicken, fries, and salad--my first Mozambican meal is a success!

We spent the rest of the evening celebrating the Fourth of July with four other Americans at a little farm on the outskirts of Beira. Chris had met them early that day volunteering at the orphanage, and they invited us over to celebrate that night. It was a total blast. We made our own homemade fireworks out of steel wool, ate Brazilian food to beyond contentedness, and played Uno. It was so much fun.

I love Mozambique!

Vegas to Africa!

So the chief reason I shall resume blogging in earnest is to tell the tales of my Africa travels. I'm going to Mozambique! I leave tonight--see attached visual travel itinerary. :)

Drake Going to Mozambique FAQ

Q: Why are you going to Mozambique?

A: I've always been fascinated by this country. For a long time, I've wanted to go to Africa, and Mozambique in particular. After my mission in Brazil, I learned a lot about Mozambique because it's one of only eight countries where Portuguese is the official language. Turns out my interest in Mozambique is more longstanding then I thought--the other day I was searching through my old schoolwork is search of an essay I'd written I wanted to read to my kids and lo and behold, guess what I found? A travel brochure I'd made in sixth grade all about...you guessed it!...Mozambique! I attached it below in case you want to take a look. :)

Q: What will you be doing in Mozambique?

A: I am going to Mozambique with a non-profit foundation called Care for Life. The current plan is that I will work within an area of their organization called Income Generation. This program teaches business skills to Mozambicans so that they can become self-reliant and qualify for micro-credit. I will also be in the country the same time as a humanitarian team, so hopefully I will also get to visit orphanages and teach vocational skills occasionally as well. I will also be revitalizing my Portuguese language skills, enjoying the warm winter of the southern hemisphere, and all around enjoying my summer in Africa.

Q: How long will you be in Mozambique?

A: Four weeks, July 4 through July 31.

Q: How are you feeling about your trip to Mozambique?

A: Okay, I guess.... Are you kidding?!?! I'm so stoked--I can't believe I am actually going. It is going to be awesome, incredible, and super super rad!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments. Africa, here I come!

Drake's Pensieve Revisited

In my very first post just over two years ago, I talked about how I put off starting my blog because I didn't know where to start, and I didn't know exactly what to say.

A similar thing has happened over the last year. I've been so busy teaching and starting life in Las Vegas, I stopped blogging, and didn't start up again because I didn't know where to start. How do you capture the experiences of a whole first-year teaching, a whole first year in the real world, out on my own? I didn't know where to start and I felt intimidated.

The good news is, just like then, I'm going to start again. I'm empowered by the fact that I don't have to record everything, I don't have to feel guilty. This is my Pensieve--it is the collection of my thoughts and memories that I choose to store here.

So without further ado, I give you...Drake's Pensieve!

Failing a Test with Dignity

Maybe only teachers think these are funny, but I had a good laugh.