"You are carrying diseases into Malawi!"

"You are carrying diseases into our country!  Where is your yellow card?", the official at the Malawi border barks.  "What kind of diseases are we carrying?" I asked with a huge smile.  "Yellow Fever" he barked.

Now -  Africa 101 teaches a few things about border control and immigration/customs control:

1.   Never ask why?
2.   Always smile - grin or show your teeth (in a nice way).  If you only have gums to show - do it gently without mocking any official.
3.   Have as many paperwork available as possible.
4.   Never ask why?
5.   If you have to pay - pay! (And don't ask why!)
6.   You need a good updated worldview on sport and family life - NO politics or economics!
7.   Look half confused but never over enthusiastic.
8.   Always speak a foreign language!
9.   Always show them what you are smuggling!
10.   Pray!

"Where have you been?"  The question is rhetorical more than anything else, so we keep our mouths shut.  We anxiously look for our yellow cards which shows that we did receive all our vaccinations.  Off course I can't find mine.  Alta found hers (she's just that kind of a person - organized you know!)  It doesn't help me though.  "You have no stamp to prove you have been vaccinated against yellow fewer.  He looks up and reminds me of my school principle just before a hiding.  (Yes, I have been in the principle's office once - or twice, I think.)

As someone once said on a border:  My stomach sinks.  I go blank and reboot in tourist mode - raised eyebrows, a stupid smile and a shrug of the shoulders.  It works - the official dismisses us with the back of his hand and signals us on to the immigration department.  Before I could even enter the immigration desk I was whisked away by another official for car papers which was not stamped at the Mozambican border.  Why?  I don't know ....... I didn't ask.  I have to admit it was a very very small border post where very little white Mazungoes passed.  We were the first for the year!  Anyway ..... my "Malawian Vehicle Officer" .... well had a few drinks behind him when we arrived at 08:30.  He was as clever as can be and immediately tried to intimidate us.  "It's a nice day to die, isn't it" he laughed looking at my "un-stamped" car document.  I replied with a smile:  "Yes sir it is - that's if you know God!"  We had no chemistry ..... he looked at one of the pastors next to me which he knew from Malawi.  "If it wasn't for that good man .... you would not have entered our country!"  I thanked the pastor -paid my dues which I received no receipt for and thought:  "I know that the missing document may come back to haunt us!"  But I didn't care - I was just glad to get into Malawi where more than 100 women were waiting for their first visit.

The joy and expectation ran high when we arrived at a local church in Malawi with more than 100 women and (to our surprise) more than 70 pastors joining us.  Malawi is very poor.  Although Mozambique is still rated by the UN as one of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi has something else added to their woes.  There is little hope.  People looked tired and hopeless.  There is little food, political turmoil and most of the people work through bribes - at least in the southern parts which we visited.

But .... here in the middle of nowhere in Malawi was 100 women together praising God and I though immediately:  "This is why Malawi is still standing - because of people like this!"  It was a joy to watch them testify.  Lady after lady came forward to glorify God because they have been taught to read and write.  One lady said that she can for the first time get on a bus without asking people if it was the correct bus to get her to her destination.  "I could read the sign by myself", she said proudly.  She shows off by writing her name on the blackboard.  The women in the meeting yells loudly to show their appreciation.  The meeting gets loud and I rush outside as they start dancing.

It gets quiet for a while and I peep inside to see why everyone is quiet.  A lady gets up and shares her story which was amazing.

She said:  "I cannot read and write.  Last night I got a dream and I saw a scripture in front of me which said
John 14:14.  I asked God why would he send me a message and dream like this if I couldn't read or write?  God answered me that HE would send someone who would help."  She continued her story and couldn't wait to tell the rest to the ladies and pastors watching in anticipation.  "I came to get some food at a small market this morning which is very close to the church.  I saw a vehicle and white people and God said:  THERE, NOW YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ AND WRITE - GO!

And I took my Bible and opened John 14:14 and it said:  "From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it.  That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son.  I mean it.  Whatever you request in this way, I'll do." (Message, John 14:14)

And oh yes ........... we did arrive back safely over the borders - lack of paperwork and all!

The River Women of the Zambezi: Day 2

My wife was up and going at 05:40 am!  It's a habit more than anything else.  I got married and on the first morning my wife, Alta brought me tea in bed at 05:00 am.   I though:  "What a good wife .... she will get over it!"  After nearly 15 years it is still the same procedure ..... so I have given up on sleeping late.

We woke up on day 2 in Mutarara.  A quick breakfast - bread and coffee is what was available.  Someone ran over to where we were sleeping with a message that the river flooded its banks again and we will not be able to visit a very remote women school on the Zambezi river - Inhangoma.  The ladies (who never had a visit from anyone) were devastated.   Alta and Eunice decided that if it wasn't possible they will cross the river by boat and at least meet some of the leaders on the other side of the river.  I told them cautiously that there is no official boat.  "It will only be a dugout tree - and crocodiles were very much hungry at this time!"  (I actually knew it was breeding time - but I had to try and keep the ladies sane.)  The didn't listen (it's the whole Mars and Venus thing all over again I thought silently).  "We have to encourage the people and tell them to continue studying."

"A Chinese motorbike eases the disappointment!" 

A motorbike with a pastor was sent back across the river by dugout tree canoe to carry a lady teacher more than 35 km (in Mozambican terms - about 2 hours) away.  The ladies buried their dignity - climbed in their river transport and set off across the river.  The pastor arrived a few hours later - on the 125cc Chinese special we had the pastor, the women leaders with a baby smiling widely as they arrived breathless.  Smelling the Chinese motorbike (General - "made in a hurry, keep in a cool place") left no doubt in my mind that they were bundu bashing at 100 km/h.  But they arrived in one piece .......... "nothing to do"!

After greeting, dancing and praying - action plans and solutions to many problems were discussed.  New lady schools were opening everywhere as women now has the opportunity to study and be counted ..... even in the bush ..... even in their strict African culture.

Photo:  Alta and Eunice experiencing African transport on the water.  The captain (left) was in total control and they actually did 2 trips to organize their program on the "other side!

"There is hope."

This increased recognition of women's importance is welcomed in several testimonies. Antonio is secretary of his local organização de camponeses, and is involved in many community activities. "The time has come for women to give their opinions," he states. "We are trying to find ways to put women in the lead, in order for our lives to improve, because women can… have good ideas." Such increased visibility and responsibility has changed attitudes, he says. "Women here in Marracuene are respected because they can be found everywhere; even in leading positions."

At the same time, he recognises that the burden of work can make community participation difficult: "We are trying to give everyone equal rights… [But] our way of life makes things difficult. People… take their hoes and go to the fields, and will not make the time fixed for the meeting…" With the high number of female-headed houses in the region - a result of the disruption of war and labour migration - women are particularly vulnerable to this barrier to greater community involvement.

Several narrators describe women's crushing workload, especially for divorced or deserted mothers, and some point out that their sense of isolation compounds the practical difficulties. Maria says that one of the hardest consequences for a woman abandoned by her husband, as she was, is having "no one to share her problems with and find ways of overcoming them". Widowed Raquelina suffers from ill-health yet still works her fields. The constant attacks on her crops by rats and hippos leave her close to despair: "Whenever we try to do something, it goes wrong... We live in a time of suffering."

Despite such obstacles, the women remain optimistic about progress.  Jorgina, another single parent, says that today "men listen to women when they talk about the issues of the family, their lives, or even of the communities." A crucial reason for this is that girls now have more education: "It is not like in the past when girls were required to give up their education… The government gives everybody the right to study, including women."

After crossing the river and making it back safely we were ready to tackle yet another lady school - who has waited more than 3 years for a visit.  The joy .... again was contagious.  I could smell chicken and rice in the background as some ladies were preparing a feast.  Gifts were carried by many ladies to show their appreciation (a common sight in the poor communities in Mozambique).  

"Crying Grandmothers"

Alta and Eunice continually emphasized that they are just serving the women of Mozambique and that the real heroes were the ladies in front of them.  The role of women, education and the literacy of women were discussed with action plans for the next 5 years.  Women stood up on after another testifying how the literacy program helped them.  Grandmothers came forward with tears in their eyes how they for the first time could help their grandchildren to read and write.


Women that could never read and write got up one after another to show off their newly learnt skills.  They read verse after verse in Chewa (the local dialect).  "Now we have to learn how to do mathematics", they cried out.


The day ended with a great meal with the local women of Baue.  We were received graciously and new God was doing something wonderful.


Photo below:  Past. Toca and his wife were both illiterate.  Past. Toca joined our Leadership Training program more than 6 years ago and could not read or write.  Through hard word and a great miracle in his life he now can read and write.  His wife also learned these skills.

Meanwhile ..... back at our sleeping quarters Jorge the local waiter cooked our water for our evening bath.  Luckily we did not bath outside due to 100 or so kids following these strange Mazungus to see if we bath in the same way.  Toilets are a total luxury in the bush


Improvisation is crucial and find creative ways .......... well ...... is very important if you want to stay healthy.  The toilets we did find in our sleeping quarters was interesting.  You had to take a huge bucket and wash away the debris with enough power otherwise you had to go outside ..... get more water ..... and "wishy-washy" again.  (Although I do not want to offend anyone with the details ...... I need to make our readers understand exactly what bush life is all about!!)  Oh .... I so hope the queen can make it to see women finding back their self worthiness.  God save the Queen!

"Who is Donna Ana?"

After eating yet another burnt offering in the form of a chicken ..... we saw the last light going down on the Donna Ana bridge in Mutarara crossing the mighty Zambezi.

The Dona Ana Bridge spans the lower Zambezi River between the towns of Vila de Sena and Mutarara in Mozambique, effectively linking the two halves of the country. Built by the Portuguese in 1934 during the Portuguese rule of Mozambique, and blown up by RENAMO soldiers during the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992),^[1] after independence from Portugal in 1975, it was originally constructed as a railway bridge to link Malawi and the Moatize coal fields to the port of Beira.

The 3.67km-long Dona Ana Bridge, at that time the longest railway bridge in Africa, was built by the Portuguese in 1934 during the Portuguese rule of Mozambique. In the 1980s, during the Mozambican Civil War, it was rendered unusable. In 1995, it was repaired with funds from USAID and converted to a single-lane bridge for vehicle traffic (as shown in the picture). Although not located on a primary highway, it provided an alternative route over the Zambezi; the only other two options were the bridge at Tete and the road ferry atCaia (which was not always reliable). The Dona Ana Bridge is the longest bridge to cross the Zambezi and was the last before its mouth in the Indian Ocean. However, in 2007, construction started on a bridge to replace the Caia ferry, which (though shorter) would become the last bridge before the mouth. The Caia bridge opened in August 2009. Dona Ana Bridge was closed to vehicular traffic on July 1, 2006, and work to reconvert it to a railway bridge were started, reopening for operation in October 2009.

The bridge comprises 33 spans of 80m and 7 spans of 50m.

Ooops .... and yes this long bridge was built by Edgar Cordosa from Portugal - and I think he named it after his wife - Donna Ana.  It was thus fitting to get the Simukai ladies to pose on the bridge before we called it a day.

The River Women of the Zambezi: Day 1

Planning a trip to the northern parts of Mozambique and crossing borders into Malawi was hard work from the beginning.  The Women's Ministry gave me an short instruction:  "Make it work .... we have more than 800 River Women waiting on the Zambezi!"  I though:  "Easy ...... crossing a few rivers on a ferry, drive slowly .... no problem."

"The call of the River woman of the Zambezi"

I didn't hear the call but Alta and Eunice were forceful when they instructed me to get everything in gear to visit the ladies program in areas which are usually very remote and sometimes cut off by the raging Zambezi which loves to flood its banks.  But it was July ..... winter season .... what can go wrong?  The idea was to cross the Zambezi river in Caia and then take the long dirt road to the Shire river and cross with a ferry onwards to Mutarara.  I felt like a Christian exploring Meca telling a Muslim where to go when the message arrived a day before we left:  "The river is overflowing in Shire ..... you have to take a detour via Tete.

It was bad news!  The road I had to travel had no signposts and was in a bad condition.  Maybe my Garmin would lead me on the road!  I mean I can tell west from east ..... but that is where it stops.  Everybody looked at me for directions .... and I just nodded as any good husband will do.  (I mean .... being from Mars and women from Venus ..... I will never admit when I get lost ..... so I looked ...... confusingly in control!)  My accompanying pastor, Ricardo Oliveira smiled confidently and said:  "Just follow the road!"

Saying "the road was bad" is a total understatement.  Really ..... luckily none of us had a pair of false teeth shattering out of control in the vehicle.  Pastor Ricardo had his cell phone working overtime as I travelled painstakingly slowly.  I wondered what he was up to.  The Tete bridge crossing the northern part of the Zambezi river was under construction and after some postponements we got underway.  8 Hours and 200 km later ......... Ricardo stopped me.  I didn't feel like stopping ...... I was in the groove ......... 4X4 mode and wanted to get to Mutarara as quickly as I could.

"Oh ... so that was the reason why he was busy on the cellphone", I thought .... setting up visits on a road we should not have travelled in the first place.  Alta and Eunice looked surprised but decided to stop.  The ladies (in the middle of absolutely nowhere) studied with the Simukai Ladies Group and they were waiting for our arrival from very early.  Although unplanned I crossed a dry riverbed and drove 10 km to find more than 50 ladies in a place called Chueza.

Their screams of joy surprised me.  They took Alta and Eunice and danced.  Due to the remoteness of the school this was Alta and Eunice's first visit to see how their extension students were doing.

I was in a hurry to get going ......... and didn't know that Pastor Ricardo had another 4 such meetings planned on the long journey.  I gave up after the 3rd group and realized we were going to arrive late in the night ..... if at all.

Many women groups were queuing on the road since 05:00 in the morning.  We only arrived at 18:00 .... but the women were waiting patiently.  Before I could even stop women were swarming the vehicle with screams, singing and dancing.

Local Mozambicans are actually quite private people, often opting to live alone rather than communally.  When you visit ........... it is not a quick hit-and-run affair.  You VISIT.  You EAT.  You SPEND TIME.  Food was scarce but people took out their best to make sure we eat as much as we can put in.

"And the river flooded its banks!"

And then I arrived at a stretch of bush road that was totally flooded by the Zambezi.  I looked at my wife ..... and I wanted to say it:  "You see .... I told you so!"  But I didn't.  They weren't watching the road or me for that matter.  They were chatting about the women, the needs and how God is working in the hearts and minds of the River Women of the Zambezi.

I dipped the nose of the Nissan deep into the river and got such a fright when I saw my hood totally submerged by the water.  I thought of jumping ship and asking people to swim for their lives.  Halfway through the river I knew that there was only one way .... and that is forward .... or as they say in Mozambique ..... "nothing to do"!  So .... like Jonah I sat in the fish and waited so it could spew me out.  And it did .... eventually.

We arrived late and the place we would stay over for the next 4 nights ..... well .... another story.   I sat down on the hard matres ..... I said something like ..... "thank you Jesus" and with the sound of women laughing and singing drifted away ..........

The 1-2-3 of visiting Mozambique

We have had several visitors the last few months.  They came for various reasons, came from various backgrounds, cultures and countries but one thing stood out as a common denominator:  They love people and they have been blessed to be a blessing.


Our vision:  "To love God and to love people, so that others can love God and love people" has been the primary reason why we partner with so many to make this dream possible in the lives of those who are hurting.  These teams and individual visitors made a huge impact as you can probably tell in all my previous blog postings.


Visiting Mozambique though is not as easy or comfortable as you may think.  From terrible roads to unforgiving border posts and even more unforgiving customs officials.  Then for those who drive ..... the hours on the road unimaginable.  There is flat tyres, broken trailers ........... and the 20 road blocks that will add more than 3 hours to your travelling time if you are unlucky.  Did I mention the odd tropical rain storm, mud and animals who it seems are getting paid to run in front of oncoming traffic.  Oh yes .... and then there is me trying to explain to everyone exactly where they need to turn off.  And yes ..... nearly every time people get lost - even with a GPS-thing(y) hanging on the vehicle.  If they google us ........ "we only see green jungle" they say.


Anyway I am on my way heading up north on the border of Mozambique and Malawi visiting Women's Ministry schools with my wife.  Will keep you updated on all that is happening ........... but in the meantime:  Here is a few survival tips for visitors to our base in Mozambique (as experienced by former groups!)

RULE 1:  While travelling do it with a smile.  This photo was taken with the Polokwane group (in Zimbabwe) still needing to travel ..... well about 650 km's.

RULE 2:  Get your hands dirty as quickly as possible.  Stellenbosch University students getting use to serve about 280 kids their daily meal out of our bush kitchen.

RULE 3:


Even if you don't trust the local bush food - trust in your prayers and sit back and enjoy the food.

Hanno, a medical student from Stellenbosch University trying out the local satza (maize meal), beans and even some potatoes provided by our local school kitchen.

More than 280 kids are daily fed in our school kitchen.  For many kids, in the hungry season this will be the only meal they will receive.
              

RULE 4:  Meet the people.  Working with the local communities and children will teach you many things we have taken for granted.  Mozambique (as elsewhere) is all about the PEOPLE!

RULE 5:  Enjoy the journey.  Make some time to relax in nature.

RULE 6:  Bring your talent and serve ..... as a primary school teacher, Dalene Pieterse proves.

RULE 7:  Serving and talents ......... oops I already mentioned this!  Africans love music.  This group brought a lot of good music to a local church ........... we danced on the dust floors until no one could breath anymore.

RULE 8:  Leave a legacy - students painting the Chitundu Health post which the community will use as a first aid station to treat malaria and other tropical diseases.