THREE: MAHUBO HOMEOWNERS - BUILDING THEIR NEW HOMES

THE BUILD

A spiritual focus was introduced by Leslie. It’s a voluntary way to start the day with a thought. While she told us more of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s program (OVC) she also started the spiritual focus in a way that sticks with me because of it's simple poignancy. She and Bob dropped many of the accoutrements of life (like salaries) to be a part of Habitat in a big way and are now on their 20th+ as leaders! When they started in the beginning they would come home from a feel driven to do more. People would pat them on the back and give accolades and she said that wasn’t it, that’s not the driving force (nor is it for me), it’s so much more. I’ve heard another team lead say she does this because every home owner is her sister. There is something so powerful and exquisite in this experience that some, the ones I admire most like Bob and Leslie will change their lives to give more.

For more on OVC http://www.habitat.org/hw/Sept_2008/feature1C.html

I was in a group of four with Gomez “chop chop, time is money” of foundation fame, a fun leader who kept us busy! Our homeowner for this first house was “Crazy Grandma” (CG) with her sweet granddaughter Juliette 15. CG loves her Juliette and has a smile that never seems to dim. Building materials were not on site to we went to “home depot” a storage lot on the dirt and sand paths, one left turn, one right turn away from CG’s location. We carried the wall posts in staggered shifts, then learned to start the foundation we would need rock and sand and lots of it, and none of it was close. We quickly saw that an older woman and her girls can haul wheel barrows full of rock and sand through the soft dry sandy pathways better than any of us, and they push these wheel barrows in bare feet! Those girls a strong. SEE a laboring culture. Gomez started outlining the circle for the foundation and we started shoveling, mixing, setting block and learning the rhythms that this build and the village would teach us and share with us.

Juliette helped us and then was with her Grandma for awhile. A smell of thick smoke wafted over our foundation building as we worked. CG was cooking inside her old hut and the smoke was our first introduction to a familiar daily occurance. SMELL the culture. This can’t be good for CG and her supportive women friends who cook everyday if they do this indoors. Some had more open cooking areas in their yards. Juliette is so you and the other kids who help, what does that smoke do to them eventually…we know but they may not. There would be many other odors during the trip to give us hints of life here, lives that we are blessed to brush up next to for a brief moment in time.

…NOT ENTIRELY CONCRETE…. A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOUSE

Habitat used to provide block houses but now the style is the local round reed huts with thatched roofs. The foundation is concrete to make sure the floor is dry and to help prevent termite invasions. The reed walls are thick to prevent rain and wind from entering. Each home will have a lockable door. The block and mortar houses became too expensive. Partly due to the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg cement is in short supply in Mozambique and has elevated in cost.

OVC is essentially a “disaster response” so women and children primarily can get into shelter rapidly. Habitat has partnered with USAID and a variety of benefactors including the Catholic church of Portugal.

Even though lunch is supposed to be at around noon(ish) this first day it was half past two. On the menu; kale in coconut sauce, green beans in garlic, white corn with the consistency of polenta.

Back at the CG’s site the community showed up and we had Chels leading a tamping dance with the kids and I on the foundation floor! Gomez is amazing, even with the slow start getting the supplies we finished CG’s foundation and she was happy. It was a great day.

Dinner decompression – we talked about the day and the surprises. Chels mentioned that knowing we were going into an area of such poverty she was surprised on the first day of the first build to be so happy. It was a lovely day.

SPIRITUAL FOCUS - BUILD DAY TWO

We got up early and while waiting for the van prepared for the day with a moment of focus. Team members volunteered to say whatever they wish…(excerpts will run through the blog entries).

“There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.


There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.


You feel it, don’t you?”

- Rumi

We learned the first day that teamwork on wheelbarrows is key in the deep dry sand as we observed the local girls tying their sarongs or rope to the front above the wheel. After breakfast and before the van’s arrival we saw that the local sewing school had opened and we commissioned several strips of fabric for the wheelbarrows. And while we were at it selected fabrics for bags and aprons. What a pleasure it is to leave a country with a sourvenir after meeting the person who made it! (Photos by Bob Bell)

I was on foundations again for day two though some of the team had switched to walls. As long as the ole’ back can hold up I’m all for the labor of shoveling sand and gravel and mixing the ever precious concrete. Magaia and his pickup make appearances at the different home sites as he checks on all of us, works with Alex to attempt to keep the supplies on hand and juggles the myriad of problems, questions and interpretations that need his constant attention. Magaia is our anchor. He has such character, a velvety deep voice and a great smile and is entirely capable. In life, somewhere along the way we meet people who we know are destined to do great things, Magaia is one of those. His truck works hard too, especially when overloaded with a bed full of sand!

Today our little group ended up at the house where the rock and sand are piled up. More creature comforts, more shade and more sun today...and the ipod speakers I brought with me proved to be a huge hit with everyone once the tunes started!

We developed the knack for foundations and quickly worked the floor to the point where we could place the wall posts until we ran out of cement for the floor and came to a screeching halt. The first shift of kids was being let out of school. The oldest girl came straight home and started pounding the dried corn in a wooden mortar and pestle with more power and endurance than I could even when I was in shape! The younger kids hang out and play, they take strings from bags and tie them together to make a long loop and use if for Chinese jump rope. It is past noon on the second day, no concrete is available and so we play. The kids hung out with us and danced and sat in the dirt paths drawing with sticks in the dirt.

LUNCH! Same as yesterday, kale, beans, corn and rice and it’s oh so good….TASTE THE CULTURE.

Every day the lunches were the same menu and about the same time with an occasional dish of chicken or beef. It was all good. The lunch volunteers had stories of the pace of the lunch preparation, stringing both sides of each bean (for 30+ people!), chopping the kale with a dull knife, slow cooking over an open fire. Expedience was not a priority but the finished product was always welcome and more so to see Gomez, Albino, Tony the roof man and all the other builders pile the food on and take a break. Children were around for the first couple of days, watching them from a cherished shady spot one of the many highlights.




THE PEOPLE, THE FACES OF A CULTURE

Today was the first introduction to some of our homeowners.

• Vitoria – her house fell down, she is 50 and her husband died. Her daughters are 12 and 14. She thanked us for being there.

• Juliette - representing her grandmother who was sick that day. She wanted to thank us all and asks God to bless us all. She is 16 years old and her mother died when she was 2 months of age and she is thankful for her Grandma. (CG in red in photo above)

• Maria Machalla – is 39 years old and wants to thank Habitat. She tried to keep up with her work, she lost her husband and she is grateful.

• Matilda Machaye – “I want to thank you for caring for us, for building a house. I lost my husband and am by myself with all of my kids.”

• Evelyn – She is thankful for having Habitat in the community. Her daughter separated from her husband and has had a difficult time. She has 5 children and will stay with 2 of them. 2 are studying in Boane. (I don’t know about the 5th).

HEAR the culture as they speak. Even through interpretation with Magaia they convey their emotion and their personalities.

On the second day we met:

• Ambrosa - (no information)

• Carolina - Natanlie 12, Avid 8 and Manuel 3 ½. “I never expected something like this to happen in my life and I feel so happy I want to touch the sky!”

• Penina Bila - is taking care of her grandchildren Fernando and Celia and ther mother Ruth. The mother is sick (this is the 2nd mother in 2 days). They left the Gaza area during the civil war and they haven’t seen the father since that time and assume he died.

• Alicia Zalias – “My grand daughter is Zalia 12 and I have a 5yo niece. I am taking care of my grandchildren and niece who have both lost their parents. I never expected this and it’s overwhelming to be given such a big wonderful thing as a house. Thank you for helping me go through the difficult moments.”

Not all of them are present, not all will want to speak. In the end we started 23 houses and didn’t meet every homeowner. All are special and each has a story, like beautiful Rosey. The joy shows on some faces like Vitoria and CG, but the impact of the statistics have etched themselves into the faces of others in a very real way....AIDS, abandonement, hard work. They are grateful for their new homes but we must never forget how their lives play out. They still need help and support.

Our builders have stories too; Francisco, Tony and sweet tortured Nando.

A CULTURE IN SONG

HEAR the culture in song; Vitoria led a song of thanks and blessings. Then Magaia led a song about the Mololo, the lazy boy. Phonetically are sounds like:

“Kuavala, kuavala

Kuavala kuavala tete!

Kuavala kuavala

Kuavala kuavala tete”

Vitoria dancing, Magaia in red shirt all singing the Mololo song>

The song is about the lazy boy who complains about pain here and pain there when he’s supposed to work, he needs to lie down instead. But when it’s time for lunch he’s there eating more than anyone and afterward he starts complaining about his aches and pains again and lays down for a nap.

A CULTURE IN PLAY

We have a terrific building team with Greg, Barb and Chels. The ipod and speakers brought smiles, and the Frisbees were a huge hit! They know Michael Jackson songs! The delays in delivery of more cement created down time to play. Chels taught the kids some clapping songs and we drew in the dirt, did cartwheels and danced to Michael Jackson.

The faces are beautiful! Most of the children smile right away and squeal when we take a photo and show it to them on the camera! They laugh and laugh. They also seem to stick together and the older children would carry or hold the younger ones. It made our hearts glad to see them together, even the two little girls who were inseparable; they stood side by side with their arms over each other’s shoulders, moving as one person. And they wouldn’t smile until, until, between Chels and Barb and I we managed to coax a little smile out of them.

One of their toys is a wheel that some of the boys roll skillfully with a stick. Some children were able to make a rudimentary swing. Kids like to get together and play after school just as they do anywhere. They also sometimes worry or irritate their parents and caregivers, just as they do anywhere.

We draw and play in the dirt and there’s a lot of it. Gardens do amazingly well, the corn was just below knee high and almost every garden has some. The chickens (Galina in Portuguese) run around with their chirping chicks, kicking up dirt and being free to roam. Goats and pigs aren’t so lucky; most are tied on 4-5 feet of rope and rotate sites.

A CULTURE WITHOUT

What can they do with all that dry dirt? How do they live in a village with a community well and only their ability to walk to get the water. No vehicles. There is a little power new “home depot” but what do our homeowners do with none; no power, no running water, no sewer and in many cases, no men. Many have known no other way, some have never even been to Maputo, and Boane would seem like a booming metropolis. And yet they have space, they have some support with each other and now support from Habitat for their family, the have their crops. They also have a short lifespan and disease. Many don’t know their actual age. HIV/AIDS leaves a lot of orphans.

See the culture of poverty.

TWO: THE TEAM

CANCER (June 21st - July 22nd)




I invite you to write down brief descriptions of the five most pleasurable moments you've ever experienced in your life. Let your imagine dwell lovingly on these memories for, say, 20 minutes. And keep them close to the surface of your awareness in the week ahead. If you ever catch yourself slipping into a negative train of thought, interrupt it immediately and compel yourself to fantasize about those big five ecstatic moments. This exercise will be an excellent way to prime yourself for a new age of unhurried bliss and gentle beauty, which I predict is just ahead for you. If you can keep the morose part of your mind quiet, there's a good chance you will stir up a new ecstatic experience that will belong near the top of your all-time list.

THE TEAM


Prior to travel team members send in bios, some email replies land in spam and we get a glimpse of the members of the upcoming adventure, but nothing written can measure up to being around these marvelous people and watching the layers peel away while teamwork at its best forges something that was not there before. In the case of Mahubo it was more than houses- and we buily several, it was the impressions and the touches on our hearts that we carried home with us and hopefully left with the villagers.



Sally came from Shanghai and had to work hard with the affiliate to even get a visa. Tim is a journalist, lives in Taiwan now via Australia. Chels the dancing Canadian and several of us from the US, including five from Oregon and Washington. What I came to know of these people is that they all wanted to do this, wanted to be there and are some of the most delightful and amazing people I’ve had the pleasure to know.



The second day in country we were driven in a van we would come to depend on daily, through Maputo on a highway, past markets, apartments, slums and bars until the scenery slowly unfolded to an occasional factory surrounded by corn fields, mango groves, a narrower road and glimpses of the infamous red dirt that research and photos had shown us would surrounding us for the duration.

Talking and exchanging more detail about each other since our introductory dinner in Maputo we learned we had two nurses, a journalist, a lawyer, a former COO, teachers, our wonderful team leads Bob and Leslie, as we started remembering names.

The first “big town” before our destination on this hour plus route is Boane, a town with a hospital and markets, most of which are set up in converted storage containers sitting on the red dirt. Women and children were busy in the river washing and playing as we moved closer to Massaca. A left turn off the paved road onto a red dirt road was the first indication we had arrived and our accommodations, a new convent barracks was in view. With 2 or 3 to a room we dropped our luggage quickly and took off on foot in smaller groups without cameras to explore the dirt road village. A proud bar owner took us into his place showing off the pool table, the only one in town and made a point to invite us back any night. (Of course we would return).

With unpacking came the filling of the solar showers, those “baby hippos” we leave out in the yard that tease us every morning as with the promise of a hot, or at least warm shower upon our return. For the first few days it was hard to believe we were in Africa weather wise…it was cloudy which was great for stamina but alas no hot showers tonight! It’s important to remember that while we had showers, we had electricity…our homeowners would have their houses for sleeping provides protected and dry in their new shelter; they would have a new latrine, but no showers for them, no electricity.

Dinner was just across the street each night and was quite good! We know we made it all the way here, we’re ready, we have beer! And tomorrow we get started.

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE

How does a team get to know one another? Two truths and a lie is one way, a fun way to discover our quirks. Our journalist recently met the Dalai Lama, our leader Bob has been to 56 countries and counting, our leader Leslie is beautiful and young and smart! We had a gymnast, a quilter and Chels who can sing and talk with her mouth closed, well. When one said : I am a scuba diver, I’ve sung karaoke in NYC, My favorite book is to Kill a Mockingbird the guess of who was me….scary because that would so be me except the karaoke (never in NYC)…but I didn’t write it! It was Carol from New York and mine was much less interesting.

Early wake-up, breakfast at the same restaurant and a half hour commute to Mahubo village via a red dirt washboard road with a stop to pick up our workers and cooks ended in our first glimpse of Mahubo. Our cook Maria and her helpers were dropped off to get started on lunch while we split into little groups of 3 or 4 to work mostly on foundations to start, walls later with the specialists in those areas. Our builders work hard and manage with the command of only 3 or 4 English words to communicate well.

ONE: MOZAMBIQUE -

Welcome to Travel Grace Mozambique and South Africa!

The need in Mozambique - ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN
Behind the smiles and the songs of our beautiful homeowners in Mahubo Mozambique there is trauma and sadness. Some faces wear it more than others, they all have something in common; they've lost someone and because of that the children are vulnerable. Husbands and fathers die of AIDS or don't come back from working in another country.  HIV/AIDS, abondonement and other reasons cause many children to live with a extended family or someone in the village. Mud houses fall apart in the rain and floors flood. This creates a need that Habitat has answered by offering houses with no loan. Sweat equity is still an important part of the homeowner's contribution.

Read more about the Orphans and Vulnerable Children OVC on http://www.habitat.org/ame/stories/Mozambique_grant.aspx

25 things you should know about poverty:

http://www.habitat.org/hw/june_2009/feature3.html

HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD, A DIFFERENT HEMISPHERE a DIFFERENT CULTURE
Re-entry trauma,  a capsule hurtling at full speed through 17 hours, slamming back into atmosphere. OK, it isn't that dramatic, but going back to "normal life" and work mere hours after being with a great team and incredible villagers in Mozambique is an abrupt juxtaposition from somewhere and doing something important that ended much too soon. My third build and the first time I set foot on the continent of Africa was over. Over except for the memories for our group of 16 and the completed houses that won't last as long as our memories and provide as much warmth and happiness for the homeowners. This African build was more, it was different and it was better than I imagined it would be. Writing is my way of processing , preserving and clinging to the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings and precious faces, I’m compelled to try and relive the moments that have become surreal and share the stories of the characters that made this trip to Mozambique so incredible. I'm not a writer, this isn't about me and I welcome any comments. It is about people and circumstances in another place as experienced through my trip. Here goes, Enjoy Travel Grace!

Before departing for Mozambique I had a brief time for a buzz around REI during a sale and found some hiking shoes (on sale) that are (not very attractive) an odd reddish, brownish, salmon color and I thought “this is perfect” as from what I’d seen in a couple of photos of off road Moz villages and from Google earth, these shoes could get dirty and it wouldn’t show very much! Little did I know how much dirt……as our commute was mostly on a dirt road to the village. Before departing there was so much work to be done there wasn’t a moment to slow down until the flight, two very long opportunities to anticipate meeting the team and the homeowners, to be excited for the opportunity to smell, taste, touch, see and feel another culture.

First an introduction, after flying in from the US, Canada, Taiwan and China our group met in Maputo Mozambique, the largest city in the country. After a night there we continued inland northwest to Massaca village on paved roads. Mozambique is narrow and long on the eastern coastline and as we travelled inland we weren’t all that far from Swaziland and the Kruger Park area of South Africa.

Our host coordinator, Magaia lives in Maputo and travelled with us to Massaca where we stayed and Mahubo, the village where the building for OVC would occur. Magaia is amazing, hard working, capable, funny and smart. He was also the only interpreter which in itself is a big job. He knows several languages and is currently in university to study law. Magaia is amazing, good looking with a deep voice and warm smile. He is important in the village and is very important to our group. the more we watched him and learned about him the more it became obvious that Magaia is one of those special people, one who will do something great and the world is a better place because he's here.

GETTING TO KNOW MOZAMBIQUE
From the GV website:  "Housing need
Why Habitat is needed in Mozambique;   http://www.habitat.org/intl/ame/138.aspx?print=true

Mozambique has suffered a series of setbacks in its struggle to develop during 32 years of independence. Following a 10-year liberation struggle, a 13-year guerilla war took the lives of 1 million people and left 5 million displaced. Only with the rise of the African National Congress and the end of apartheid in South Africa, was Mozambique able to broker peace and disarm the guerillas in 1992.



During its 15 years of peace, Mozambique has had one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, yet the country has a steep hill to climb. Since the war, HIV/AIDS has been sweeping through the country, with an estimated 17 percent of the population infected in the country and as much as 30 percent or more in certain cities along transport lines.



As a result of these deaths, children are left orphaned, often without adequate shelter and sometimes homeless. To make matters worse, in 2000, the country was devastated by the largest flood ever recorded in Africa, which left half a million people homeless.



Formed in 2000, Habitat for Humanity Mozambique has worked with poor communities, local volunteers and international teams to build hundreds of houses in Maputo Province and in the provinces of Manica and Gaza.



Habitat for Humanity Mozambique's initiatives include providing housing in partnership with the country's most disadvantaged groups. Originally, Habitat Mozambique houses were made of cement blocks. In the last few years, Habitat has adopted local materials and methods which lower costs and increase efficiency and community involvement. Additionally, Habitat Mozambique can reach the very poorest families in each  community as rapidly as possible"

• 200 million population

• 500 people a day die of AIDS and 500 people a day contract it.

• The village where we built has very few men; many villages have lost men and women due to AIDS.

• During civil war it was the poorest country on earth, now ranks 172nd of 176 on the poverty scale

• The average income is low, villagers will often barter and trade. Some can work in banana or citrus farming. There is little formal employment. Many workers cannot even afford the bus.

• Maputo does have a university and some like Magaia work in professional positions.

• The Gorongosa Park and the Carr Foundation are trying to repopulate the animals indigenous to the area that were practically wiped out by war, poaching and other hardships. The effects of the civil war are hinted of on occasion, even through they're independent now it is a communist country with elections happening. It's been so recent that even some of our builders were soldiers then, one guarded a bridge to prevent rebels from crossing.

• The government gets support from other countries. There is little tax income and resources are hard to get to without funding.

• The people in the village grow corn and some other vegetables and raise chickens and sometimes have pigs or goats.
 - Shangaan and Portugese are spoken primarily though there are 14 languages.(There is another reference to Shangaan in the section on Soweto).  Many names are based on Portugese. Ceasear is a local man who has an African name but is called Ceasar. H ased his grandfather why he and his father are both called Ceasar. The grandfather said "bring me a bottle of wine and I'll tell you." Two years he waiting then taking a bottle of wine to his grandfather he finally learned about the big man of Rome.

As a team we first saw a glimpse of Maputo including venturing out on foot for a couple of blocks, camera in hand to explore. The local market in a side alley consists of clothing hanging on fences and shoes set out in lines of singles all pointing in the same direction, in parallel, making a pattern of lines. Across the street from the church boarding house where we were staying is a local bar and three of us had fun trying to by coke and beer with the help of the locals. One message came through clearly, bring the bottle back! The people were friendly though seemed amused by the oddity of these blonds who wanted beer but couldn’t articulate the different between light and dark.

In a short distance and even shorter period of time before dinner we discovered the juxtapositions of Maputo on one main road…two buildings looked brand new, important and bespoke of government or wealth, or both. On the same street the church stood out in its AFrame glory as one of the largest buildings, close to high end auto dealerships with fencing and guard dogs. In one direction a small bakery and the lineup single shoes of the sidewalk show salesmen. Down the hill toward an open market of everything from hardware to spices line up along the road, hiding behind these stalls the stark reality of slum. Lean to shelters built of corrugated metal walls and roofs held down by rock. Many of us have bathrooms bigger than these houses.

Guidebooks cast aside; (they have little) we explored based on hints by some expats about where to walk. Others who’ve traveled to Africa mentioned that many people don’t appreciate having their picture taken, but we found the opposite in Mozambique with one exception. Taking a side road toward the harbor past a bank we walked toward three men, one armed and looking very much the role of bank guard. He smiled at us “tourists” and spoke in quite good English asking us where we are from and saying how good it is that people come to learn about Mozambique.

It started looking a little rough on the side street so a U-turn was in order. On the other side two young men were walking toward us, pointing to the camera. They smiled and leaned toward each other and the photo was taken, they were delighted and satisfied with simply looking at their image on the camera display, smiled and said a few words I didn’t understand and moved on. After dinner with our group we settled in and it was a good day. Travelling to Massaca (luggage in one van, people in another) was on the agenda for the next morning.

It's a good day. See the culture for the first time. We aren't even at our ultimate distination, the village for the build that would leave us better than we leave it.