December 7 was a historic day for Tzu Chi in Mozambique. It handed over to new owners the first 12 houses of the Ndeja Great Love Village in Sofala province in the centre of the country. It plans to build a total of 480 homes. They are among the 3,000 new houses of the reconstruction process in Sofala, within the Cabinet of Reconstruction Post-Cyclones (GREPOC), after the devastation of Cyclone Idai in March 2019.
In Ndeja, there was a ceremony to deliver the houses. Tzu Chi volunteers decorated the area in a colorful environment, even though the skies were gray and later it rained -- just as it did on the day when the first stone was laid.
Witness
The volunteers provided the tent for the beneficiaries to stay. They also provided a kit showing what they would receive together with their new homes -- two beds, two blankets, bucket, toilet brush and broom, all indispensable to maintain the homes.
After everything was prepared, the administrator of Nhamatanda, Adamo Abdula Ossumane, came with his entourage to take part in the opening ceremony. Pastor and beneficiary Mariano José proceeded with the opening prayer and thanked God for the unique moment that they were witnessing.
Celebrate with Dance
Because Tzu Chi values cultural expressions, volunteers danced for those present and sang hymns calling for peace, hope, and compassion among human beings. The beneficiaries looked on, their eyes filled with love and admiration.
Hygiene Lesson
It did not end there. The volunteers presented a play that illustrates a careless family that did not pay attention to hygiene and took little care of the house it received from Tzu Chi. The children and adults, during the mango fruit season of Mozambique, ate with dirty hands. They used them to touch the walls of the house and the bathroom, which they did not sanitize afterwards. This caused the whole family to be affected by cholera.
Thanks to the advice of health professionals and lectures from Tzu Chi volunteers, the family has changed its attitude in how to safeguard their lives and ensure that the houses are always well maintained and keep the condition of how they were designed.
Explanation by Rebeca Mabunda
Tzu Chi local volunteer Rebeca Mabunda said that the play illustrated the need to educate adults and children of the need to take care of the houses that were expensive to build and apply all the rules of hygiene and sanitation of the environment that were explained by volunteers during visits to the centers.
Fulfilled Commitment
After the lesson, it was up to Dino Foi, to tell the beneficiaries what he said to the community of Ndeja -- by delivering the 12 houses, the Foundation has fulfilled its commitment to the people of Nhamatanda.
Foi said that this was the ideal time to deliver the houses to the rightful owners that are the beneficiaries, and an opportunity for the residents of Ndeja to realize that they can rebuild their lives after the ravages of Cyclone Idai.
Foi said that, in all, 480 families will receive houses, of Type 1 and 2. They will have homes of their own and will not need to rent, much less put them up for sale. He stressed the need to keep the houses clean and ensure their resistance to the effects of climate change. Everyone must have a sense of belonging.
To conclude, Foi told the beneficiaries present of Ndeja Community that all 480 families benefiting from houses already delivered and those being built will receive about 3.5kg of sesame, 1kg of corn, 20g of cabbage seed and 20g of pumpkin seed, including 10kg for family consumption. These aim to stimulate the productivity of the resettled and ensure sources of income. The audience warmly applauded his speech.
Cherish the House
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Domingos Chimarizane said that the houses should be taken care of in the way shown in the play. He said they were particularly grateful because many others affected by the cyclone did not have the same good fortune as they, receiving houses at zero cost. So he said that it is everyone's responsibility to take care of the properties on their own and not needing someone else to tell them how to do it.
To ensure better use of the houses, engineer Domingos, representing Tzu Chi, explained how the beneficiaries should use the keys and the type for each door, from the living room, bedrooms, and toilets.
Revitalization of Hope in People
Joshua Pedro Mangue, representative of the Chief Administrator of Tica, expressed his joy and gratitude in seeing finally the resettled people being allocated homes. “This goes beyond a simple delivery of houses. It is the rebirth of hope in people. Tzu Chi does a lot for the communities, because it not only supports the communities through supplies of food, and seeds for agricultural production. It focuses above all on the humanitarian issues. Many people are looking for encouragement, affection, and understanding to overcome life traumas and to rebuild their personality,” he said.
Cherish
The administrator of Nhamatanda, Adamo Abdula Ossumane, repeated the points of Dino Foi's speech, on the need to observe hygiene and follow procedures to take care of the houses, and look after the residents’ health.
He said that Tzu Chi was in Nhamatanda to stay. “It needs the district residents themselves, and of Ndeja in particular, to cherish the Foundation, because it is not every day that someone like Master Cheng Yen, founder of Tzu Chi, comes to bring together the efforts of people, to devote her life to teach love not only in words, but also with actions within and outside Mozambique,” he said.
Madofa Canivete and Mariano José
After this speech, Dino Foi and Adamo Abdula proceeded with the symbolic delivery of the keys to two beneficiaries -- Madofa Canivete and Mariano José who received type 1 houses.
Afterwards, the two beneficiaries went to open the doors of their new houses and were overwhelmed with joy. Mariano José not only entered for the first time as an official owner, but also prayed and thanked God for the life of Master Cheng Yen. As a pastor, he gave blessings to everyone next to his wife, while the volunteers arranged new items inside the house.
Next, the volunteers visited the house of Madofa Canivete who said she was very grateful. She told the administrator how she had asked God for at least 10 more years of life so that she could enjoy the blessing she received. She never imagined that she would receive such a house.
To show her satisfaction, she made a point of lying down for the first time on the bed that had previously been set up and decorated by the volunteers.
Adamo Abdula Ossumane
After the symbolic deliveries of two houses, the administrator of Nhamatanda, Adamo Abdula Ossumane, spoke. He asked the Tzu Chi documentary team that covered the event to express his gratitude to Master Cheng Yen, for all that she has done for Mozambique through the Foundation and to the volunteers who tirelessly sought ways to bring solutions and transform Mozambique.
The governor's gratitude went further. “I hope that the Master can have more years of life, so that she can bear the fruits of the love that she is planting in Nhamatanda and Sofala. This is only the beginning of the transformation. Before, few believed in this. But actions speak louder than words. The significance of this achievement of delivering houses, even if small in numbers, is impossible to describe in a simple speech.”
Engineer Marcelo Langa
Marcelo Langa, representing COTOP, said that he was very happy for the way the Foundation cares for the beneficiaries and the fact that it is an active part of the process. He felt grateful to witness this moment in resettling the people of Ndeja after the ravages of Cyclone Idai in 2019.
This time, the families will be able to live properly, after waiting more than three years to have decent and safe shelters as all those hit by natural disasters deserve.
Article: Elson Bie and Charles Jose Carlos from Mozambique
Source Link: https://www.tzuchi.org.tw/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1713
