Approx. 100 people =
JEAN PIAGET
Jean Piaget is one of the most recent villages where Care for Life has implemented its Family Preservation Program. It receives its name from the nearby University Jean Piaget, which carries the name of a Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His declaration in 1934 is all too fitting for the work Care for Life is starting with the village Jean Piaget: “only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual.” And that is Care for Life’s philosophy – to give families knowledge to turn their own lives around and create in turn a self-reliant society.
MOTEL BISBO
Motel Bisbo is one of the most recent villages where Care for Life has implemented its Family Preservation Program. Motel Bisbo’s current conditions are terrible—families are ill because they are drinking untreated water; they suffer from cholera due to the lack of personal latrines; they are malnourished because their ONE daily meal consists of a thick porridge with a little to no nutritional value; their homes are poorly built and illiteracy is high. But this is all about to change with Care for Life’s Family Preservation Program, which teaches them to turn around their lives and their conditions…day by day, month after month.
VILA MASSANE
Vila Massane was founded in the early 20th century during the rise of the railroad in the Beira area. It grew in size as employment opportunities increased, but with the civil war from 1975-1992 it suffered greatly. With the decline of the railroad the main income of the area switched to agriculture. Many people now move to the area to plant different types of crops and sell them on the market. Its original name was Chapare, after the name of a tribal leader that used to live in the area. Eventually the name was changed by the Beira municipality to Vila Massane.
SUBIDA
Subida is a Portuguese word meaning “ascent or way up”. It is Care for Life’s most wide spread village. School attendance is one of the biggest challenges for Subida because the nearest school is 5-6 miles away.
NGUPA 1 & 2
Ngupa is essentially an agriculture area, with a large number of families moving to the area especially during the rice planting/harvest season. Before independence from the Portuguese in 1975, there was a large brick making factory in the region, but it closed down during the civil war.
NHAMATANDA 1 & 2
The word Nhamatanda means “fishing with traps” and originally was the name of the now dried-out river in the region. Both villages are in the south of the small city bearing the same name. Nhamatanda is very rural and dry which exacerbates the problems of drinking water and water for agriculture. Through the Care for Life partnership, Nhamatanda has learned to dig wells and use bricks that they have made to have access to the much needed water. There are several wells in each village and because of this, the village is flourishing with family gardens and drinking water.
MAFARINHA
The village of Mafarinha, like Mungassa and Casa Banana, is also located near the railroads that the Portuguese built in 1899 to connect Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Most of the residents of Mafarinha found work at “Caminhos de Ferro”, the Mozambican company that managed the railroads and train transportation. Mafarinha flourished during the first part of the century but during the civil war (1975-1992) many of the railroads were destroyed, which caused the people of Mafarinha to become unemployed and consequently slipped into destitute poverty. Before the arrival of Care for Life, many residents in Mafarinha had turned to agriculture to survive. Through their partnership with Care for Life, they learned to diversify their income generation and thus better the quality of their lives.
CHIVERANO
Chiverano is a village adjacent to Nhamainga and therefore shares a similar history. Chiverano was developed by employees in the early 1990s after the opening of “Cimento de Moçambique”, the major cement factory in the province. Many families moved to Chiverano to seek employment and to establish a new life. Chiverano was one of the villages that suffered greatly during the civil war. In fact it had been raided and completely destroyed during the conflict following Mozambique’s independence in 1975. With the arrival of “Cimento de Moçambique” many families returned to the area for a fresh start..
NHAMAINGA
Nhamainga was developed by employees in the early 1990s after the opening of “Cimento de Moçambique”, the major cement factory in the province. Many families moved to Nhamainga to seek employment and to establish a new life. Nhamainga was one of the villages that suffered greatly during the civil war. In fact it had been raided and completely destroyed during the conflict following Mozambique’s independence in 1975. With the arrival of “Cimento de Moçambique” many families returned to the area for a fresh start..
NDUNDA 1 & 2
Ndunda 1 & 2 are two villages with close proximity to the city of Beira, which is located about 20 minutes from the Care for Life offices. Originally Ndunda was one large village, but due to the proximity to the city several new families have moved into the area in the past few years, which caused the community to split into two.
CASA BANANA
The name Casa Banana was taken from a community in the south of the country which played a major role in the Mozambican independence process in the early seventies. Casa Banana is nestled between banana trees (hence its name) and lies adjacent to Mobeira, a large American-owned wheat and maize mill. The village developed significanlty once the factory opened in the early 1990s. Casa Banana and the nearby village of Mungassa are adjacent and separated only by the railway that passes between the two village.
INHAMIZUA
When Care for Life first implemented its program, Inhamizua was one of the most deprived villages in the region. There was no clean water, the housing conditions were appalling, various diseases like cholera, malaria, and tuberculosis spread because of the lack of sanitation. Dozens of mothers died during childbirth and many of their children did not live past the age of five. Inhamizua was accustomed to disappointment and a lack of hope that their lives could ever improve. This created a mistrust toward any foreign aid. It took some time before they started trusting Care for Life, and became more comfortable with Care for Life’s self-reliance approach. After 30 months of working side-by-side with Care for Life, the village and its families are changed – they express a feeling of community, they support each other and maintain the teachings they learned from Care for Life. Diseases have descreased drastically and when any medical situations arise, they know where to seek help. Instead of disappointment and lack of trust they feel confidence in their own potential and hope for a better future.
Mungassa was the second village where the Family Preservation Program was implemented. Mungassa is located near the railroad that the Portuguese built in 1899 to connect Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In the decades following the construction of the railroad, the area around Mungassa was developed. But with the departure of the Portuguese and the final liberation of Mozambique in 1975,a civil war broke out due to the opposing political parties flight for power. During the time of the civil war (1975-1992) the area around Mungassa suffered greatly. The village was repeatedly invaded by those involved in the conflict, thus compelling the residents to flee in order to save their own lives. Members of the village are still scarred by the memory of the violence endured during the civil war. Mungassa, with the help of their 30 month partnership with Care for Life, has risen out of the shadow of the civil war and is now a village that is clean, organized, goal driven, and even has electrical power.
MBATWE
The word Mbatwe has no specific meaning in the local dialect (Sena) other than that it stems from the surname of an influential family that used to live in the area when the village formed during the second half of the century. Mbatwe was the first village to implement the Family Preservation Program. Their condition was deplorable when Care for Life first arrived — no clean water, no electricity, terrible housing conditions, diseases such as cholera, malaria, tuberculosis were abundant, and about 20% of the village children died before the age of five. 30 months of implementing the Family Preservation Program made Mbatwe look and feel like a whole new village. Familes were drinking treated water, had built better and stronger houses, were healthy and happy, and diseases were greatly reduced. Even years after Care for Life has exited the village, the families are maintaining the enhanced life they learned through their partnership with Care for Life.
