The Xaverians arrived in Mozambique in 1998. In the diocese of Maputo about 50 miles from the capital, in the town of Chibututuine, lives a Missionary Fraternity that comprises a family: Enrico and Desi Ceccarelli, with their children Giulia and Caterina, Fr. Gianluca Emidi (a priest from the diocese of Grosseto in Italy) and Xaverian Fr. Joe Mauri. They are part of the Lay Missionary Center, and live mission in the form of a small church community dedicated by their whole lifestyle to the witness of God’s love. Below, the group writes, thanking their friends and describe some of the relief work that they have been engaged in since their arrival.
ozambique was hit
in the South and the Center. The
rivers overflowed and flooded the country’s most fertile soil damaging the
crops and plantations worth incalculable sums and leaving dead 30% of the
livestock. The main road is
destroyed cutting our district in two. The
waters reached as far as Xariavane, a town to the north, leaving 40,000 homeless
and seeking refuge in 16 rehabilitation camps.
Debt - Mozambique Case
Mozambique is one of the poorest countries of the world with 90% of the population living below the poverty line on less than a dollar a day. The recent floods have left 2 million people homeless and most of the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed. According to estimates, the floods have knocked the development process back 20 years. Disasters are not caused simply by destructive weather conditions. Mozambique’s crippling debt burden is a key factor in the lack of infrastructure which has made it impossible to prevent massive damage and loss of life from the natural disasters. Mozambique is currently paying $ 1 million every week to the IMF, Word Bank and other Western Governments. Great Britain has cancelled Mozambique’s debt, but other governments must follow suit to make a difference. Mozambique’s debt repayments are only reduced to $57 million a year, which is more than its government spends for primary health care ($20 million) and primary education ($32 million annual) combined.
(from Mission: The Xaverian Way 8)
We are helping in 5 camps reachable by road with a total of 8,000 people who have lost everything, not to mention those who have lost their lives and for which no reliable figures are yet available. Some 20,000 are still on their land, isolated, but their homes saved because they were built on high ground. These people are helped by daily relief flights, which drop basic necessities. The asphalt road close to us is used as a landing strip to shunt the relief and to reach those cut off by flooding.
In the reception camps it’s upsetting to assist at the arrival of helicopters with loads of flood soaked people. Every five minutes 9-10 people arrive saved from the waters, uplifted from small islands of land not submerged, or saved from the tops of trees where they had fled in their last hope of survival. We have also seen a small plane loaded with many tents destined for a large evacuation camp in the northern Mozambique.
This and many other examples of interventions being undertaken by many nations seems to underline the great solidarity that exists towards this one of the poorest countries of the world. The organization of aid is now divided into eight sectors in which the aid organizations work side by side to alleviate the worst conditions of the evacuees.
Our little Fraternity is involved in two sectors, feeding and resettlement of families in new plots of safe land. The resolution of the problems will take many months.
We are collaborating with the Commission that has responsibility for feeding. For the moment we are in the displacement camps and then, until the next harvest, in the family units of those resettled. We have helped to organize the kitchens, thanks to the help of Caritas, locally and internationally. We have procured plates and cups and some large pressure cookers. Presently we are attempting to establish kitchens for the babies in each camp. With this we are trying to tackle malnutrition and its associated diseases. At the same time we are attempting to educate the mothers of the children by showing them how to prepare a more nutritious diet for their little ones. All of this is being done in collaboration with the local Association of Mozambique Women. The first phase is expected to take two months. Then we will pass to the second phase that envisages assisting the family units once they are returned to their land – hopefully dry!
Inside the camps for the flood victims, the people are not discouraged but are preparing themselves to begin again. The strength and hope of the people is extraordinary and being in touch with these people who have lost everything yet continue to smile, is an incredible life school for all of us. We wish to thank our friends who have made it possible for us to be here with this courageous Mozambique people in their time of difficulty. We embrace all of you.
(From Mission: The Xaverian Way - 8)