Update - Lazaro

Can you remember Lazaro's story. See the link for more details : http://visionmozambique.blogspot.com/2008/09/lazaro.html

Lazaro was brought into the orphanage by local government officials, who recognised our work, helping needy children. His mother had died of AIDS, leaving him in a terrible state of neglect. He had a very deep ulcerated hole in the side of his head and another on his jaw. The holes were so big, you could fit your finger in. He was very sick and weak and his little body was full of worms.

Martha, the carers, and the children fervantly prayed for this poorly little boy, but it was doubtful that he would last the night.

Two years on, and this little boy has grown up into an entertaining youngster, with a loving heart and a happy grin, he spends his days playing with Alfredo, Selena and Zacharius. He loves football, and has quite a talent for it

Update - The Twins, Selena & Alfredo

Do you remember back in September 2008, when we brought the twins back to the orphanage?

Click on the link to refresh your memory - http://visionmozambique.blogspot.com/2008/09/twins.html

Look at the desperate look on Selena's face. So many emotions, all in one. If you remember, the twins were suffering from severe malnutrition, and whilst they were nearly three years old, they really were tiny - in fact they were so tiny, we dressed them in baby clothes on their first arrival.

Well look at them now. Two happy, chatty children, full of fun and mischief.

Have a look at the video below for the proof of it. Both Selena and Alfred love attention. Selena just squeals with excitement. Alfredo loves cameras and just wants to get closer and closer, as you will see.

Update - Marta, Leopoldina & Zacharias

Back in December 2008, Martha and myself went to visit a lady who was looking after seventeen children. Her siblings had died, leaving their children behind. She was cooking a small pot of beans to share between them all. She was at her wits end trying to feed them and look after them.

I noticed a young boy on his own, sitting quietly near a hedge. He was very sick, covered in sores and extremely weak. The lady broke into tears as she lifted the boy up and told us the story. He was HIV positive and too weak to do much now. He was five years old, could we help??

Look at the faces of these children - how many emotions can you see?

Nearly two years on, and a great deal has changed for the brother and sisters.

Marta, who at 14, was too old to go into the orphanage, moved into Martha’s house as she was a similar age to Martha’s daughters. Both Leopoldina and Zacharias were just 500 yards away at the orphanage. Close enough for Marta to vist every hour, if she wanted to.

Marta started studying an agricultural course in Maputo, in September 2009. She misses her brother and sister, and is homesick, but knows that this is a great opportunity for her. She comes home every few months.

Leopoldina, now nearly 10 is a happy, go lucky child. She has a fantastic voice, and is always singing. She's a typical cheeky ten year old.

Zacharias is now seven, he is on some fantastic medication that helps to manage HIV, and he’s doing really well, and as you can see, he's got a good appetite!!

Armindo’s House

You might remember back in December, when I posted a blog about the start of Armindo’s new house. At that point the walls were probably about three feet high. You can see how much progress has been made in just a couple of months. Since this photograph was taken, the roof trusses are now in place, and the roof will be going on shortly.

Back in the UK, I’m sure that the house would be finished, painted and lived in by now, but in Mozambique, life is quite different, both in time (Mozambique time usually at least one hour late, and also down to the availability of tools). Just check out the scaffolding as an example.

It’s an exciting time for Armindo and Delfina, who in just five years have seen massive changes in their lives, through the work of Vision Mozambique and your support.

They have seen their Church grow from just 13 people under the shade of a tree, to several hundred at the church in Maxixie. We also have six other churches, with between 60 – 80 in each church. They have seen the benefits of sustainable projects, such as the sewing machines, and the shop. The shop provides a valuable outlet to their community, so that you can buy just 1 cup of rice, rather than a packet – it helps families to survive on a day to day basis with a meagre allowance.

Armindo and Delfina are extremely generous with what little they have, as proved when a UK team visited last year. They welcomed all of us into their little reed hut, and shared their food, and treated us like royalty. It was a very special time, and a very humbling experience.

Delfina keeps her little reed house immaculately clean, but no matter what, there is nothing she can do to stop the rats from chewing through the walls and breaking into her beautiful little home.

Armindo and Delfina have two reed huts, one with two bedrooms for their children, and one with living space and their bedroom. Their new house will accommodate the whole family under one roof

Medical Centre Update

Whilst the video is a couple of month old now, you can see how much the medical centre has progressed. We have used the same footprint of the house, from both Martha’s and Armindos, and also implemented the lessons learn’t along the way. Such as adding an extra foot to the veranda, and making sure that the roof slopes just a little bit lower than in the last two buildings.

Initially, this valuable resource will be utilised by the orphanage. It will help to provide an isolated and peaceful place for the children to be cared for and recover, from such things as Malaria or HIV related illnesses. The clinic will also be used for weighing, de-worming and delousing the children, as is often the need, on arrival at the orphanage.

The work-force really are putting their backs into it, and I’m confident we will be finished by August. Have a look at the tour of the medical centre, to see the latest developments.

Here in the UK, we have recently been having a bit of a heatwave, and it often leads to slower days and hotter tempers. Out in Mozambique, these guys are using the most basic of tools, slogging away in 35° heat – I think that is something we can’t imagine. I’ve included a video of one of the guys putting rendering onto the wall – check out the speed and rhythm he’s using – and with the weight of that rendering and the heat, he’s not even broken a sweat!

Little Donkey

These two boys were gathering water for their neighbours, some distance away.

On the cart there are about twenty four empty drums, when they are full, it weighs nearly half a ton.

Poor Donkey.

Our cup runneth over

Following on from the trauma of last year when the well broke, I just wanted to share with you just how important this well is to the local community. This picture is taken from the water tower you can see how long the queue is. Some of these people had been waiting since 4 am.

Our well provides essential water for washing, cooking, and cleaning for the whole of our orphanage and provides a huge amount of water (up to 20,000 litres every day) to the local community. Water sales have dropped off considerably recently due to the government wells that have recently been reopened.
Thank you for your prayers.

Below is video, please just click the play button.

Hello Friends

Hello Friends

I really must apologise for the absence of news from Mozambique. Back in March I travelled out with my Mum to get an update on the medical centre and also have a holiday. Whilst I was there I began to feel unwell and was advised by medical professionals to get home as fast as possible. I arrived back just after Easter and have been having tests etc since then.

There really is so much to tell you, about the medical centre, the orphanage, the well and also Armindo's new house. Keep an eye on the blog over the next few weeks as news will be flooding in, along with photos, videos and updates on the children

Please continue to pray for the people in Mozambique, the projects we are working on, and I'd be really grateful if you would pray for my ongoing recovery.

Many blessings to you


Pete