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August 2007
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Catching up with life at the centre - Becky
The boys in our dormitory seem to be doing well generally.
Osvaldo (see picture below) had his eye operation just before Christmas and his cataracts have
completely gone. He can now see clearly, is more self confident and less of a catalyst for trouble!
Fabito is as friendly as ever,
he comes to our house most days to ask for the football. Betinho's behaviour continues to improve as he realises how much he is loved
and accepted. I don't think I have ever seen such a transformation in a child.
Earlier this year, Cesar was reintegrated back into
his family home, but unfortunately it didn't work out. He ran away to the streets in April and appeared at our door last week saying
that he wanted help. We're investigating the situation and hoping to settle him back into his family, with support.
Tio Joao, the
dorm parent (educator), is pleased to have us back and already has a list of requests for the dorm. Graciana adores him and he
manages to get a cuddle and a giggle from her every time they meet.
Inevitably, a lot has happened at the centre during our time away, mostly good, but the staff here have faced some really tough
situations as well.
There are still many reminders of the bombing all around us (in March, a weapons depot accidentally caught fire,
setting off missiles which rained down on the nearby community for 5 hours). The kids and missionaries talk about it often and some
are still nervous when they hear loud bangs or thunder. It's an absolute miracle that no one here was injured and there is now a
greater sense of unity at the centre and in the community.
Life here at Zimpeto is never straight forward. We often wake up in the
morning and make a vague plan for the day, but within a few hours we find ourselves tackling unexpected events and sometimes
unbelievable situations. Most days end with us having - maybe - ticked one thing off our list!
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Betinho & friend
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Fabito
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Osvaldo
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Cesar
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A Day in the Bush - Jonny
I went into the “bush” with one of our boys. He is not living at our centre any more for various reasons.
One saturday, he took a bus to visit us and
welcome us back to Mozambique.
Afterward, I said I’d drive him home assuming it was just 20 minutes up the road from what he described.
But I didn’t realise before I left that after the 20 minute drive on tarmac road, it’s another 10km’s down deep sand/dirt tracks in the
middle of absolutely nowhere; just trees, bushes and scrubland for miles.
I was driving my truck and was so scared of bursting a tyre
because of all the thorn bushes or even getting stuck in the sand. If either had happened I would have been totally stranded. It was
quite an eyeopener to see just how remotely people live here.
I finally had to abandon the car because the track became impassable and walk the rest of the way to reach his home.
He lives with an old man who’s almost totally blind and who’s wife cannot walk.
The couple have twins who are only 15 months old and they lives in utter poverty.
Having our own little gracie (who wasn’t with me!)
and sitting at this man’s house watching his kids, it really hit home to me just how blessed we are with what we have for gracie. His
little kids were sitting on the dirt ground and eating scraps of rice out of a cooking pot.
I sat with the family for a while and
talked to them in broken Portuguese and gave them a bit of money to help them out. I didn’t stay long because it was getting dark, but
I drove back quite shocked by what I’d seen. I’ve seen a lot of poor people here, but not personally seen this desperate-ness before.
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