restoring dignity

I recently returned from a trip to Mozambique, Africa. This is a beautiful country off the coast of the Indian Ocean. It is known for it's beaches and has become a tourist destination due to the stunning beauty. I wouldn't know about that as I only saw the beach on my drive to and from the airport through a car window. What I saw looked nice. I was there for work.

As is much of Africa, Mozambique (Moz) is recovering after civil war. When the Colonialists left, the African's fought each other for power. I was in Southern Moz, near South Africa. This area struggles financially. Illiteracy and unemployment are high. The educational attainment rate is about a 10th grade education level at best. Most men migrate in to South Africa looking for work in mines, as truck drivers, construction workers, or any job they can get. South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV in the country of Africa. These men are bringing the disease home to their families and the rates in parts of Moz are growing drastically. In one province I visited it jumped in one year from 19% prevalence to 27% prevalence. Yikes!

The women are often left behind in these circumstances. Left to care for their families, their property, their farms, their livelihoods. We have started a boiler chicken project with these women. They raise the chickens, sell them, reinvest 60% of the profit back in to the business and divide the rest among themselves. When I asked the women what this project meant to them, they said: "we can feed our children," "we can afford to send them to school," "we are no longer hungry." What they didn't say, but what was written all over their face and body language, we are proud of what we have accomplished. To me, this project and projects like this restore dignity to those who have suffered so much.