IMAGINE – Annual Report of Programmes Undertaken in 2008

“That which we call imagination is the foundation of God’s thought …..
for that which is first imagined, later becomes”

IMAGINE in Mozambique – Annual Report for 2008

Believe it or not, this is IMAGINE’s 9th Annual Report – just where has the time gone ?

This year, our maxim “First we IMAGINE, then it becomes” has never been more apt. We continue to imagine and to believe in what we are doing, despite the occasional disappointment. However, thank God, our experiences have in general been positive and we continue to receive support and assistance from local, municipal and provincial government authorities – and from the people of Catembe. Our donors, old and new, too have been unstinting in their trust and encouragement. It is only when we sit back and see just how many others are involved, in so many different ways, that we realize that we are but small pieces in a very large and colourful jig-saw.

Serena & Imelda

Of course our programmes and finances have suffered from the various crises engulfing most of the world :- cost of basic foodstuffs have increased dramatically (rice by circa 100% over the year), costs of construction materials have soared in recent months and meanwhile the value of the pound has dropped by over 25% over the last 3 months of the year (thus reducing the “onsite” value of donations made in the UK).

We have (or are) taking cost reducing measures without damaging programmes to too great an extent. However, if available funds do drop significantly, we will need to concentrate funds on our priority programmes, e.g. the Family Homes and outer community family support.

We are not alone in feeling this pressure of course – almost the entire world seems to be gripped in the same malady.
However, when you look at the smiles on the faces of the children currently living in the Family Homes complex (see Group Photo top of this page), despite all the problems we face (real or perceived), it is all worth while.

IMAGINE Programmes and Partnerships

Mother Teresa Sisters

Logistically, now that we live and work in Catembe it is increasingly difficult to visit the Mother Teresa Sisters in the Maputo district of Hulene “B”. There is no such thing as “popping across” to Maputo to visit them – we need to find sufficient time (and no distractions) to be able to sit and chat – and of course say hello to the children and adults under their care.

We still support them as best we can – and still consider ourselves as co-workers and family. They can provide the special care necessary to treat some of the people we support here in Catembe – particularly in the hospice they have at their centre. They care for some of our Catembe children and in return we care for some of their orphans (at the Family Homes).

An example :- about mid-year we were asked to take in a six week old child (Lucinda) who was not being cared for by her family and was in a terrible physical condition. We realized that Lucinda was so weak that special attention was necessary – so we called on the Sisters for help.
We dutifully took Lucinda there and her condition improved almost immediately. She still needs ongoing attention and will remain at the Sisters until she is well enough to be returned to the Family Homes.

The Christmas party held at the Sisters was as joyous as ever. This year there were about 800 old people attending, mostly women. IMAGINE helped financially in holding the “festa” – and once again bought the capulanas distributed on the day to the old ladies (the men get a shirt or jumper).

We were involved in the first of these parties – 18 years ago and we have not missed one since. This year we were really touched by the welcome we received from the old people when we arrived at the compound. We feel as though we know each of the “guests” personally and spent much time greeting each one individually. Lorraine was encouraged to lead the traditional dancing – and despite the heat gave her all. The dancing and singing were tremendous and moving.

The hospice at the Sisters continues to provide tremendous love, care and support for so many very ill people. Unfortunately the hospice is almost always near full – but it is not a sad place.

The parents understand that their commitment has to be total. They are not undertaking a “job” but a change of lifestyle – for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their responsibility is enormous – the future of their “adopted” children is in their hands.

To prepare them for this, they undertook an initial 6 week course supervised by the Ministry of Women & Social Action. This has been followed up with three specially designed courses on wider though specific issues relating to child psychology supervised by specialists in this field, Wona Sanana (which means “listen to the children”). The children now under their care have different needs and have “suffered” different experiences – and we all appreciate the need to understand how to take this into account when dealing with the occasional trauma. Whilst there is still a long way to go, and we know that there will be some trials and tribulation on the way, initial signs are that the programme is having a positive affect on the children. Child psychology experts, Wona Sanana, have recently told us that in their opinion, the children in the Family Home programme are most definitely developing excellently.

Talk to the children and they will tell you that they have new brothers & sisters – and a new mum and dad ! They even call us Avo & Vovo – granddad and grandmum – in recognition of our more advanced years (this is something we will have to get use to – even the people at the Old People’s Village (see later) call us Avo & Vovo – and they are many years older than us – honest !).

Back to the children. It is good to report that all but two passed the end of year school exams (a miracle in itself given their history and background). A visitor perhaps summed up the whole atmosphere of the homes when she commented “Everyone is happy and smiling – I feel I just have to smile along with them”. This year we have added a little to the infrastructure at the centre in constructing :

A Community (or Activity) Centre, a separate washing and drying area, an agricultural storage room, two wells and a goat enclosure. We have also constructed an exterior cooking area for each house and shaded communal eating areas between the houses.

The VSO volunteer (Rica David) specializing in agriculture has helped create a large agricultural development wherein each family (parents and children) enjoy contributing to the running of the centre by growing :eggplant, carrots, lettuce, cove, beetroot, onions, pimento, maize. We also have goats, rabbits and ducks.

We plan to provide more “on-site” administration which will see us having more direct control of daily activities and general administration. Imelda Escalona (our long term VSO volunteer), will take this in hand initially, developing the procedures, until we find the right person to take up the duties full time. Imelda will also continue to provide expert financial control, budgeting and management for all our programmes. Our initial belief that the Administrator should be living in Catembe has proven to be correct and this will be taken into account when next making the Administrator appointment.

Community film shows Following on from the successful film show programme at the Family Homes, IMAGINE staff took the idea one step further and introduced a Saturday morning film show event at various schools. By far the most popular films were cartoons – in particular Tom & Jerry cartoons. Circa 80 – 100 children attended each show. Whether it was the films that attracted the children or the sweets that were given out at the interval – we don’t know, but all seemed to enjoy themselves. It is now planned to continue these film shows each Saturday morning using the Activity Centre at the Family Homes.	Tom & Jerry Fans
Sewing Group Led by one of the IMAGINE Community Coordinators the Guachene sewing group continue to offer a good service and are becoming much more proficient in the making of school uniforms. They have now reached the stage whereby they have saved sufficient funds to purchase their own materials. IMAGINE continue to buy completed uniforms from the group – at a cost still cheaper than we would pay in Maputo. This year we have distributed 150 uniforms and pairs of shoes.	Sewing Centre
Agriculture / Goat Training The VSO Volunteer, Rica David has provided agricultural training to a number of beneficiaries throughout the year.Many of these beneficiaries are now growing sufficient vegetables etc. to provide for their families and have some produce to sell to neighbors. A number of training seminars have been held throughout the year to equip those families who have received goats with the skills to rear those in their care. This training has included the use of local and traditional medicines. All such training has been undertaken with the District Director of Agriculture assisted by Ministry technicians – free of charge.	Family Homes children working on their plot

Mosquito nets

We have now distributed circa 2,500 mosquito nets throughout the district. Having been told that the use of a mosquito net at night can reduce the chance of catching malaria (still the most deadly disease affecting children) by up to 70%, we feel that this is a programme we must continue.

TV Show

Catembe District was the subject of a national live TV morning program in November. IMAGINE were invited to take part and eventually we were given 30 minutes in the 3 hour show to describe what we were doing. We were introduced by the District Administrator who, thankfully, was very magnanimous in his comments regarding our various programmes. Filming undertaken the previous day at the Old People’s Centre and at the Family Homes, gave the show’s presenters lots of background and in general the morning went well – we were most impressed with their professionalism and enjoyed the experience. Later, the show’s producers asked if they could film a show just about IMAGINE’s work – let’s see if anything comes of this.

Mutsekwa Desks & Uniforms

The Educational authorities constructed a new two roomed school in Mutsekwa – one of the poorest communities in Catembe. IMAGINE agreed to provide the required school desks (40) and school uniforms (including shoes / socks) to all the 80 children registered at the school.
The opening ceremony and the first distribution of the uniforms etc. was overseen by Mr. Comice, the Municipal President. Each child also received a mosquito net and towel. It was a special day for all involved with much singing and dancing performed by the children and their parents.
We are pleased to say that at least another 20 children have registered to attend the school since the original distribution (and of course will get their uniforms / shoes).

British High Commission Away Day

We were pleased to welcome the entire staff (almost) of the British High Commission to Catembe for their “away day”.
Rather that simply pay us a visit the BHC decided they wanted to do something useful and volunteered to paint the Guachene school and to clean the beach adjacent to the Diogo restaurant.
In light of this, IMAGINE decided to take the opportunity to refurbish the school infrastructure (exterior / interior walls, floors / ceilings etc. of the six classrooms).
Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and really got stuck in. All the effort was worthwhile – the school looks almost new !

Family support

IMAGINE has supported 150 families (mostly mother / grandparent led and having circa 600 children) and over 100 old people. This support consists of monthly food, health care, education (including provision of uniforms /shoes), clothing, agriculture / small animal farming support, skills training – and if necessary safe and secure housing (see below). Each six months we (with representatives from Social Action and the Bairro Secretary) undertake a re-assessment of families receiving such support to see if an acceptable level of self-sustainability has been reached. If the joint decision is that this is the case, the family are replaced on the support list by another more needy family.

House Building

Since IMAGINE began working in Catembe, we have constructed 80 houses in the District. To-date, most of these (74) have been the “emergency” type, i.e. made from local material (but using lots of cement to ensure house longevity). There are many families in Catembe who live in desperate circumstances and extremely poor housing conditions. Utilising local (but good quality) materials allows us to provide a safe and healthy home in about 3 weeks.

However, while we will no doubt continue to build “emergency” housing, we are turning to the construction of “block” houses. Inevitably there is extra cost and the time taken to complete construction is longer (at least two months), however you do gain the benefit of official licensing, greater longevity and can take advantage of the recently demarked areas which ensure provision of electricity, nearby water and better environmental conditions (available now or planned for the future). We continue to learn from this experience.

Computer Training

IMAGINE undertook to provide free computer skills training for its Coordinators and District Administration staff over a ten week period on two evenings each week. A total of 15 people undertook the full course which consisted of computer fundamentals, Microsoft systems software, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, printing, hardware maintenance, file maintenance, virus avoidance. We have been asked to repeat the course for more students – but have yet to find the time.