A new day dawns for Mozambique

Jonathan Hett has just returned from Mozambique, where the water filters you have so generously sent are saving peoples' lives – and transforming communities.

Mozambique is one of those African countries that tends to conjure up images in the mind because of its past. For long years the country suffered through the traumas of a destructive civil war that resulted in the deaths of many thousands of people, either directly or as a result of the effects of displacement.

Then four years ago, one of the great African rivers that flows through the southern part of the country, the Limpopo , flooded vast areas as a consequence of the rains that fell on the mountains of southern Zimbabwe and eastern Botswana , that are its source. The TV cameras captured memorable scenes as many thousands of people in Gaza province were rescued from their precarious perches in the branches of half submerged trees.

It was the floods that initially brought Samaritan's Purse to the country. Responding to the calls for help, Samaritan's Purse were able to send a team to assist in the areas of greatest need in that southern part of the country. And a team is still there, some three years later, when the issues are different but the needs are just as great. The problem now isn't too much water, but too little. For over the last two years the rains have been irregular and at times haven't come at all.

This drought has resulted in large numbers of people becoming dependent on food distributions undertaken by Samaritan's Purse staff in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP). At the same time, a supplementary feeding programme has also been run in conjunction with UNICEF, WFP and the Ministry of Health with the aim of reducing mortality and morbidity of children and women in three districts of Gaza Province . This has involved not merely food distribution, but also individual child nutrition monitoring and community education.

During one visit to a distribution point out in the bush, it was heartening to see a large crowd of mothers and children, not just receiving food to keep them alive, but also learning vital skills for looking after their children, that will be so important in the longer term.

Samaritan Purse's programme in Mozambique has a number of different components and they connect very well with each other. Providing food is all very well, but if there are no adequate sources of water near to where people live, then life is indeed hard.

It is estimated, by UNICEF, that only 36% of households in Mozambique have access to safe water; indeed the country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world with a large percentage of these being directly attributable to a lack of access to clean water.

That's why Samaritan's Purse International have put such a high priority on their BioSand Water Filter (BSF) programme, which is a very low-cost, sustainable water treatment option that requires little skill to operate.

Seven filters per day are manufactured using mostly local materials and they are distributed widely amongst targeted villages. Always the impact is positive, with healthcare levels rising in families that have received a filter. It was encouraging to visit family homes in a very remote area, where the distinctive blue filters stand proudly in one of the huts and to hear the positive comments made by members of the family.

A donor from the UK has paid for each filter. This is grass-roots development work where the impact is immediate and life changing.

Food and water are two of the most basic needs for all men and women. But Samaritan's Purse's involvement in Mozambique doesn't stop there. Like so many African countries, Mozambique is blighted by the HIV Aids epidemic. It is estimated that there are over one million people (total population around 18 million) who are infected with the disease.

With help from local churches, Samaritan's Purse is implementing a Life Skills and HIV/Aids Prevention Programme in order to promote healthy living amongst the young and reduce the stigma associated with the disease in the community.

The programme introduces issues that are frequently never discussed openly in African society and trains strategic groups to go out into their communities with a message of prevention and acceptance. This two-year programme is largely funded by USAID, but a small but vital part of the budget is covered by funds raised from UK supporters.

It was fascinating to visit Mozambique – to see a country starting to emerge from the dark years of war, famine and flood. It was a privilege to gain some exposure to Samaritan's Purse's important programme, to meet members of the team and to gain a small insight into the work being done.

Funds are being well spent and UK supporters can take heart from the positive and effective impact that is being felt as a result of their generosity.

Report by Jonathan Hett

Click here to find out more about our water filter project.

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