I awake to another morning in Mozambique. The daylight begins much earlier here than back home. Home, so far away. The familiar noise of vehicles already on the go seems kind of strange. Familiar? Already? Off to breakfast.
It’s after breakfast and I head downstairs with the team, climb into one of the two taxis we use for our ride to the build site. It is familiar (there’s that word again) commute but the repetition is not boring. There’s always a bit more clarity, a detail unseen before that catches my eye or that of one of my co-riders. Today it was the price posted for the wood doors for sale at the side of the road.
We arrive at the site and I look at the house to confirm that the progress made the day before is real. A sense of pride surfaces in me. I wonder if Olinda feels the same?
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| Olinda's old home housing her and her four children |
The children greet us like well known travellers, smiling and happily waving at us. They watch us work, sometimes laughing, no doubt amused by something we’ve said or done. They eagerly interact with us and their laughter is so genuine and spontaneous, yet I wonder how can they be so happy when they have so little. Are the ‘advanced’ nations too focused on the unimportant? Have we lost what is important?
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| Our families eat one meal a day. |
Pedro directs Mike, Tamara and I to go with Olinda to a nearby Habitat build site to get a plank for our scaffolding. Following Olinda along the paths I have an almost surreal feeling. I am on the continent of Africa. I am in Mozambique. I am walking the roadways of this community. These paths have been walked on by so many before.
We return to our build site. I cut rebar, saw wood pieces and nail wood forms. Pedro and I head over to the nearby Habitat build to see if we can borrow pliers. Success. Walking back I can’t help but feel like somewhat of a regular now. I know this path!
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| How to Tie Re-Bar (Triangle Version) |
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| How to Tie Re-Bar (Square Version) |
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| Mixing Cement |
We put up rebar and forms, cut wire, mix cement and fill the forms. The interior floor is being packed and the exterior walls smoothed. A little rain begins to fall. We keep working as the rain gets heavier. We scoot over to take shelter under a tree. The rain is more intense. We’re getting soaked. I join in the spontaneous rush of people to the house next door as the rain becomes a downpour. The house is not finished but has a roof!
The other half of our team arrives from the other build site and we wait for the taxis. The children, who were part of the spontaneous rush of people seeking shelter, continue to entertain us with dance and song in this unfinished house with uneven dirt floors, rocks and building material everywhere. They stomp their feet, clap their hands, sing and laugh. No electronics. No instruments. They have so little yet they have so much – their community and each other.
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| Tamara and her enthusiastic group of admirers |
The taxis arrive and we climb aboard for the ride back to the hotel. The children gather near the taxis, smiling, waving goodbye. Some call out the name of a team member. A few jog along a bit beside the taxi as we pull away.
I smile. I came to help the children. Sometimes I wonder who is helping who the most.
….Rick
