This blog shouldn't be mostly about dance - but then again, maybe it should. At least for me, dance has been a big part of my experience in Mozambique, and I don't think this is only because I am a dance lover, but because if you keep your eyes open it's everywhere.
At clubs and parties, endless festivals and shows - obviously.
And on the streets you will often see people dancing/walking to the music playing in their mp3 players, portable radios or any music playing somewhere outside, and groups of friends showing each other dance moves.
Finally, if you are really alert, you might catch a kid seemingly daydreaming a rhythm or a song and interrupting whatever he's doing to make a quick dance move for himself.
It seems like everyone dances and nobody's shy about it.
Centro Crianca Feliz had their annual party last week and I got to participate for a few hours and see the children, parents, grandparents and staff have fun playing games and performing dance, singing and plays for each other. There are some really impressive artists among these children!
One of the highlights for me was this improvised dance show, where three boys got up and danced for the whole crowd. (And at the end of the video you can how a few girls can barely wait to get on that stage)...
In my last blog entry I promised to write more about my trip to Zambezia, and although some time has passed, here comes the second part - now about the primary school in Murrovoro.
In the province of Zambezia IBIS" education program targets several primary schools under the "Happy Schools" project,and Escola Primaria Completa de Murrovoro is one of these happy schools.
Murrovoro is in Alto Molocue district, a 45-minute drive from the town of Alto Molocue, which is a long distance when you don't have any means of transportation except for your own two (bare) feet - something that most inhabitants of Murrovoro don't. So even though you can get there fairly easily by car,Murrovoro is very, very far away.
It can be an interesting mental exercise to try to understand what it measn to live in such a remote area,starting in terms of material possessions and of experience: We visited Murrovoro School with a small group of volunteers from a company that finances the school's Happy School activities, and they had prepared different activities for the children. In these situations you come to realise the value that a simple piece of paper for folding origami can have for a child, or even a grown-up, who owns practically nothing. And not only material possessions, but also concepts and knowledge that you take for granted become evident. For example, as some of the volunteers discussed, does it even make sense to talk about the food culture in your country to children who have probably etaen the same food every day of their life? And the bigget question - is it alright to do so to children who are actually also hungry most of the time and are very malnourished?
The families of Murrovoro are very poor - as are most people in Mozambique, especiellay in rural areas - and all the families we visited live of farming (beans, manioc/cassava, tobacco), but at a very small scae, mostly just enough to meet their own needs and maybe with a small surplus for sale.
The vulnerability of life in a place like Murrovoro is immense, for example as drought or floods can ruin you crops or your house. This was the case of one family we visited, who were sleeping outside on the ground under a thatched roof. This was their only option while they were collecting enough bricks to build a new house after it had been destroyed by heavy rains. I should mention that Murrovoro is in the highland, so the climate is not always as warm as at the coast. We happened to be there suring some rainy and chilly days, and the reality of this hard life becomes clearer when you see children shivering and with no shoes or enough clothing.
Another vulnerability is the access to health care, as it is very difficultr to reach a health centre (as mentioned, the nearest town is far away and people have no means of transportation. Even if you do reach a town or small city, however, there is no guarantee that there will be access to the medicine you need, not even paracetamol, or other medical supplies (including running water).
It is not easy to define which needs are more urgent for this kind of communities, and it is difficult to say exactly where schools and education fit in - it might not be the first priority for creating livelihoods here and now, but maybe on the long run it is the way for this. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how a school can serve as a place for gathering in a community that is dispersed over a large area (some of the children walk up to 8 km back and forth every day to go to school), not only for the children but also for the parents and grandparents who are actively involved in ensuring the quality of the school through their engagement in the school board - which in some cases means coming to the school every day and making sure that the classes are running as they are supposed to.
Dona Elena is a grandmother of Murrovoro and a member of the school board
Of course, I could say something about how the school is a "happy" place, but I will let this video, recorded on a chilly afternoon, where we were waiting for the rain to stop so we could continue our activities, speak for itself!
Singing in the Murrovoro rain
And I will leave you with a few pictures to give you an idea about life at Murrovoro School:
Last week I traveled with two colleagues from the office to the northern province of Zambézia, where IBIS’ education programme is based – more specifically in the district of Alto Molocue. Let me just say that this was a completely different experience from what comes to seem as urban, cosmopolitan, hip and happening Maputo. This is what I could call the “African experience”!
Okay, maybe I should clarify that there were no lions or giraffes; I did not meet any tribal people and I also did not see anyone fighting a crocodile or a snake (Fortunately the most extreme experience in that regard was an invasion of ants in my room, but my very savvy roommate handled that situation efficiently with insect spray).
However, a few of the things I did see were:
Women and men walking elegantly in the side of the roads carrying bricks, wood, food or big buckets of water on top of their heads without spilling a single drop…
People meeting under the shade of a tree...
Children bathing and women washing clothes in the river…
… and with soulful music playing from the car radio while you are being tossed around in the four wheel drive that’s having a losing battle with uneven dirt roads in the rain, this scenario is perfect for the beginning of a great romance with rural Mozambique. - And in spite of many difficulties that the population in these areas face, that I am not looking to play down, I do feel that some level of romantization is very valid, not only considering the beautiful sceneries and details you meet when you take an extra look around, but also due to the interesting and inspiring people I got to meet during my stay. The next few postings will be about this visit.
The trip to Alto Molocue was in connection with the visit of a donor who finances IBIS projects in two rural schools in the district. We went on several visits to one of these schools, located in a remote area called Murrovoro, but we also spent some time in the small town of Alto Molocue, where IBIS has an office and has supported several activities over the last years.
Something that really caught my attention was the social awareness of the children and young people I spoke to in Alto Molocue town. It is very clear that there have been efforts in the area to strengthen the civil society and to create a consciousness about rights, something that is particularly visible when it comes to the rights of the individual at a more personal level - and when I say visible I mean in the discourse you meet when talking to people, but also literally visible as you can spot t-shirts everywhere promoting children's rights, protecting yourself from HIV/AIDS, the fight against domestic violence, etc.
'Girls' power to ...report [abuse] ...say no ...choose their own future'
'Promoting and protecting childrens' rights' (t-shirt from the 'Children's Parliament')
On one occasion, during an event at the town's playground, two 12-year old boys approached me and asked me how human rights and children's rights are viewed in my country - their question definitely took me by surprise! Thinking of Denmark this is not really an issue I am used to discussing in the same way as they are (meaning: how do I actively protect my rights on a daily basis), since it is something that is mostly taken for granted or maybe discussed in more abstract terms - and at least there are mechanisms that can react if these rights are not respected. These children's concerns are very practical and relate to learning that children have the right not to be beaten in school, the right to speak their mind and not to experience sexual abuse, etc. Sometimes I do wonder to what extent children are able to understand what all of this means, but nevertheless there is definitely a drive and a significant motivation to try to create more opportunities for themselves and other children.
Of course this awareness also needs active steps from authorities, as the children's capacity to take action is very limited, but I am still impressed and interested to see what this new generation will do with this empowerment to speak their mind and if the discourse of rights can become more than rhetoric.
If you follow the link below, you will see 12-year old Jessica reciting a poem she wrote herself. Jessica is one of the children that attends the literature club at the Alto Molocue Community Development Centre (supported by IBIS) who all very bravely shared their poetry with us. (A rough translation of the poem is in the description of the video)
As an intern my responsibilities are related to fundraising and especially communication – an area that is quite new to me, but that has already given me exciting challenges and that I am eager to continue working on for the next few months. One of my tasks will be to produce a few short films that reflect IBIS’ work in Mozambique, and a few weeks ago I already got the chance to experiment with this, when I went to visit Centro Criança Feliz (“the Happy Child Centre”). Criança Feliz is a centre in the outskirts of Maputo – a very poor neighbourhood called Ferroviário das Mahotas – where children from the area can spend their free time before or after school and get a proper meal every day. IBIS supports this centre through a local organization.
Criança Feliz receives around 100 children every day who go there regularly to get help with their homework and participate in different activities, such as drama classes, sowing, using the library and learning IT or just playing with the adults or the other kids.
I spent a whole day there, talking to the people who work at the centre, taking pictures (practicing on IBIS’ new camera which has many, many more functions that what I am used to) and filming interviews with children of different ages. It was so uplifting – and exhausting – to be surrounded by really energetic and curious children.
You can tell that many of them have a rough life in different ways – some have poor health, others have lost their parents or are forced to live apart from them for different reasons, but children are children, and I have found that it takes more to take away their curiosity and positive view of life.
Many of the kids I interviewed told me that what they do best is playing with their friends. At first I thought this is a very modest answer – at least if you were hoping they would tell you how good they are at sports and that they want to become basketball stars in the future, or that with their talent with mathematics they dream of becoming an engineer – but thinking about it, it is definitely the best answer one could get from a group of children who otherwise have to grow up and take responsibilities way faster than other children.
I have a pretty steady daily routine, and even though I normally appreciate my very flexible, at times a bit lazy, student life, I can actually say it feels pretty good. Of course, the routine is only a few weeks old, so I have hardly had the chance to become bored with it. And more importantly, having an early morning routine becomes much more bearable when it takes place in Mozambique – the country I have been dreaming and fantasizing about since about 6 months ago, when I first decided to apply for an internship with IBIS.
I think the reason why I am enjoying, and maybe even looking for, this routine, is that living in a new city, working a new job, meeting new people – just generally feeling very new at everything – it gives me a sense of belonging here, of taking part in the life and movement of the city. I have an idea of what to expect when I get up and leave for work in the morning, and I also know how many times I can be surprised every day.
When I leave the apartment in the morning and go out on Avenida 24 de Julho, I take a left turn on a busy street where I walk among people dressed in suits or smart dresses and high heels, and others dressed in colorful capulanas with their babies tied to their backs. I know that by the time I walk back home in the afternoon, this stretch will be full of street vendors sitting in the shade of the trees that are standing in line all the way down the sidewalk. Some will be selling magazines and books from the ground while preparing a meal over a small fire; others will be displaying a wide array of dressy women’s shoes neatly lined up, and the same woman as always will be sitting over her tiny grill roasting corn quietly. What continues to impress me about Maputo is that almost no matter how busy the streets are, how much traffic there is, how overcrowded the chapas are (minibuses that are the most used public transportation), everything just feels mellow and relaxed, you barely hear any cars honking (though it does seem as if they are willing to hit you if you do not get out of their way). I still catch myself walking fast for no apparent reason, outpacing everyone on the sidewalks, but I am learning to slow down, because I am beginning to realise how fast the days and weeks are going.
I take a turn around the hospital and continue my journey down Avenida Kim Il Sung, a broad and spacious avenue with immense, beautiful trees that get me in a good mood every time I walk this stretch. On each block there are always several street sweepers making sure the pavements look as neat as they can be, and guards are sitting on their small chairs outside the gates of the residences they are looking after. IBIS’ country office is located in this calm part of central Maputo, Sommerschield, where the cars are bigger and newer and you occasionally can spot someone riding a bike – or even jogging! – and this is where I come in at eight in the morning, Monday to Friday.
It has almost been four weeks since I arrived in Maputo, where I will work as an intern for IBIS until the end of the year, and I am beginning to feel ready to start sharing my impressions with whoever out there might be interested. I hope that through this blog, I can give you an idea of my life in Mozambique as an intern, as well as an impression of the context of IBIS’ work through my experiences and the people I will meet during the next months.
