Mozambique

My name is Luca, I am 24 years old and, a couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to have an intense missionary experience in Mozambique, more precisely in Carapira, where, thanks to the welcome of the Comboni fathers and Comboni Lay Missionaries, I had the opportunity to meet and get to know the Macua people.

I left for this experience on August 18, together with Ilaria and Federica, two missionaries who have been dedicating their service for almost two years to what has now become their home: Carapira. I was fortunate enough to meet them two years ago in Modica, Sicily, shortly before their departure.

That encounter had a profound effect on me and, right from the start, I began to feel the desire to join them in the mission field, certainly to put myself at their service, but above all to meet, get to know, and let myself be touched by the beauty and humanity that characterize these places. So, this summer, after a short period in Italy, Federica and Ilaria welcomed my request to accompany them with joy and enthusiasm.

And so, after a flight marked by a thousand vicissitudes, including missed and canceled flights, we finally arrived in Mozambique, in Carapira.

Right from the start, I was deeply impressed by the welcome of the local community. After introducing myself during the first Mass I attended, stumbling over my Portuguese, I became “Mano Lucas,” or “Brother Luca,” to everyone. Soon I too began to call everyone I met ‘mano’ and ‘mana’; I even learned to call people older than me ‘mamà’ and ‘papà’, thus entering into a dimension of familiarity and community, perhaps never experienced before, which made me feel welcome and made me feel good.

The incredible welcome I received made me feel at ease from the very first moment and also helped me a lot to fit in, while always remaining on tiptoe, into the daily life and reality of Carapira. I spent the first few weeks mainly observing, getting to know and trying to better understand the context I found myself in, to understand how I could offer my contribution in the little time I had available. I soon realized that in order to do so, I had to stop thinking only with my head and learn instead to open my heart, entrusting myself to God’s love.

So it was that one morning, while I was still recovering from two days of fever, some children from the bairro (village) came to visit me. They had heard that I was not feeling very well and, without hesitation, they had rushed to bring me some cheer and lift my spirits. In addition to keeping me company, they were the ones who entrusted me with what would later become my mission: they asked me to help them study mathematics.

Unfortunately, in Carapira, many children struggle to really learn anything at school. And how can we blame them? All the conditions are in place to make this journey extremely difficult: only three hours of lessons per day, classes of about ninety children with only one teacher, classrooms that are too small, a lack of desks and chairs, suffocating heat and, in some cases, even a lack of pens and notebooks. The result is that many fall behind, unable to do simple addition or even illiterate, despite having attended school for years.

Yet the desire to escape this situation and the desire to learn are strong.

As soon as I had fully recovered, we began this adventure. We had few resources at our disposal—a few sheets of paper and some pens—and the space was what it was. So we began to meet near the large church in Carapira, sitting on the ground and using the walls of the church as a backrest. We settled where there was shade: on one side in the morning, on the other in the afternoon, moving from hour to hour to escape the direct rays of the sun.

In the blink of an eye, word spread and many preferred to ‘abandon’ soccer for a few hours of the day to come and study some math in company.

As I always say, not out of modesty but because it is the truth, what these children taught me during the days we spent together was much more than what I was able to teach them. Being able to observe them, get to know them, be their friend—or, as they would say, their “brother”—was a great fortune that I will always cherish in my heart and that has deeply enriched me. Encountering diversity always leads to new discoveries that nourish the spirit; it leads to an awareness of aspects of oneself that would otherwise be difficult to emerge and, above all, it helps us understand that, despite our many differences, we are all much more similar than we think. Only when we reach this awareness does it become truly possible to speak of “global fraternity.” If only those who govern this crazy world could understand this…

Returning to my experience, I could recount many other significant moments I experienced during those two months: from the beauty of community life with the Comboni missionaries, to whom I will always be grateful, to the intensity of the joyful and authentic faith of the Mozambican people, to the many encounters in small communities scattered throughout the countryside, and much more.

But I will not dwell on this any further, not least because I would need pages and pages to recount it all.

However, in closing, I would like to share a reflection that, during my days in Mozambique, I developed first and foremost about myself and, perhaps, more generally, about the “white tribe,” as Father Alex Zanotelli defines it.

This reflection arose when, shortly after the start of the mission, I began to realize that I was the one receiving the most help. Paradoxically, the person who was helped the most was the one who had set out to help and who, perhaps sinning a little with presumption, did not even feel so needy. This discovery shattered many of my beliefs and, without a doubt, allowed me to start again with a new spirit. It was the spirit of someone who, aware of their own limitations, desires to receive help, desires to feel welcomed and touched by God’s love, in order to cherish it and then give it back, in a new form, to those around them. After all, it is only after being helped that, following the example, we can help others, giving back the love we have received and creating a self-perpetuating spiral of good.

I therefore believe that recognizing ourselves as “needy,” despite all our comforts and all that we possess, is the way to truly welcome God’s love and the first step to take in order to truly serve others.

This, then, is what the mission has taught me most, and consequently, my wish for anyone who reads this article: try to abandon your presumptions and learn to recognize yourself as needy, in order to truly encounter the Other, who is God.

Luca

Dear friends,

After a long time, we are finally able to write and give you news about this important and delicate humanitarian aid project, which we are developing and carrying out with all our heart and strength.

We are involved in many projects and activities, and we are trying to do our best for the good of these people. We left you with news of an initial emergency intervention supported by our missionary team (lay people together with the Comboni Fathers) working in the parish of Carapira.

If you remember, on the day of the cyclone, we gathered together and opened the doors of the church and other buildings to welcome the displaced people affected and, as a first response, provide them with food and shelter for the night. A few days after the disaster, the district of Monapo, which had intervened with some associations to support these families, asked us for help in reaching as many people as possible. Of course, we did not back down and we supported everything until the situation became a little complicated, because some people were not receiving aid. After various interventions together with them, we perceived and intuited that the support that needed to be given had to take a different form, so we asked ourselves what would be the most appropriate way to help and how. Because let’s face it, we are all capable of giving things and we can all call ourselves missionaries, but the right question is: how can I help them to really give support? So that they can continue to have a dignified life? So that they do not remain in a situation of dependence, but can build their lives from this experience! From this profound question, all our reasoning as a missionary team began, putting all the risks and possibilities on the table. The Lord is great!

From these reflections and seeing the general situation a little more broadly, we started immediately, conducting a general census of our parish, that is, of all 98 communities that comprise it, together with all our regional representatives and the people who work with us in the various ministries, involving every elder of the community and the communities themselves. We assure you that even this first step was not easy, because communicating with everyone in a place where most people do not have a telephone, plus the great distances that separate us from some regions and not having means of transportation, took time. Then Cyclone Jude destroyed some bridges, so it was also difficult for us to reach certain areas by car. (There are some areas that are still inaccessible.) This is to give you an idea of how basic life is and how long it takes to get things done. Starting from this initial census, there were many questions: Who do we help? How many communities? What criteria do we use to choose? How? And if someone comes to us for help, what do we do? But here too, Providence was immense, and all this could only open our eyes even wider, and we were truly amazed at how much good and concrete help came from you! From these initial questions, which on the one hand weighed heavily on us, trying to help/make a difference without excluding anyone, in truth, little by little, all the pieces fell into place. Obviously, we always intervened immediately with food and first aid/help whenever they came knocking on our door. But let’s get to the beauty that was achieved thanks to each one of you.

As mentioned earlier, given the long distances that the regional representatives had to travel, we started by buying five bicycles, one for each regional representative, and delivered them to each of them at the parish council. It was impossible to give a bicycle to all the participants in the various ministries of the parish because there are so many of them, but at least it was a first step for the regional leaders who are always running around their region and their beloved communities, thus helping them to reduce the time it takes to reach the various communities in their region. We started with these five regional leaders to conduct an internal census in each of their communities together with each elder and each area leader responsible for their own area. In the end, your generosity allowed us to help build a house in each community, for a total of 98 houses, for the poorest and most needy families that they themselves identified… The house will not be made of brick, because the costs are exorbitant and we will never be able to intervene with everyone and on a large scale, but here too we have considered supporting the construction of a house with a wooden pole structure and the side structure will be made with blocks of mud mixed with cement, which means a stronger and more durable house… Then the roof will be built with bamboo and a large, strong, resistant tarpaulin that insulates to keep water out, all donated thanks to your great support… Each community will commit to the construction itself by providing manual labor, commitment, and enthusiasm.

We have also intervened to support the construction of almost 30 brick chapels for the moment… they are already working to try to complete the work before the rainy season arrives and, above all, before more cyclones hit. The chapels will be built in brick because, in the future, with more cyclones, they can be used as shelters for displaced people.

You really cannot imagine their happiness, the little hope you have kindled in their hearts despite the many difficulties they face every day… Just think that Carapira is called ‘little Italy’ by the people: they have great esteem for us Italians because, apart from the help they have received, they have always found Italian missionaries who have loved them dearly!

But that’s not all… in addition to helping with houses, chapels, etc., we have bought blankets, mosquito nets, soap, etc., so that we can distribute them to other families and thus reach more people in need.

Some of the missionary team, in particular Wiston and Maria Augusta, with great joy and passion, are also taking a course in natural medicine and are going to various regions to teach basic first aid, since they cannot afford to buy medicines, nor can they find them, and also because after the cyclone the health situation has become much more complicated (simple malaria kills many people every day). Now, little by little, we are building a small nursery for natural medicine plants, and in time we would like to give them these small plants or at least be able to support them a little in medicine… other future ideas: working on the seeds to give them, etc.

So there is no shortage of work, and despite the many hardships we experience every day and share with them, we are not lacking in joy. On the contrary, we give thanks and pray that the Lord will always keep us healthy and build a path for us to remain in the future.

We are grateful to life for this journey, for your continued trust in us, and we do not have enough words to thank you personally. We know the importance of transparency and its value, and every day we fight for a better world and for dignity, especially for the poorest and most distant.

Thank you for believing in us and continuing to walk with us, never leaving us alone, but rather making us feel like family and co-responsible. Knowing how to choose every day and live true values is important for the good of all. Therefore, we feel very responsible for what we receive and towards all of you, and we apologize again if we are unable to respond immediately because so many of you write to us and we are busy on a thousand fronts, but, in our own time, we will get there.

We also have some big news that we want to share. For the brave and not so brave who would like to come and see and touch with their own hands what we do, we invite you to spend some time with us. What we can offer you is certainly a lot of fun, the joy of welcoming you, and a great opportunity for us to open our hearts and learn about the mission that belongs to everyone… and what you will experience firsthand is true humanity and a people who will welcome and love you. What will you take home with you?

Real life and humanity lived… but we will leave that for you to discover… and for those who are ‘afraid’ of malaria, don’t worry, a little prevention during your stay and you won’t notice a thing. We are waiting for you to come and live this life with us because we are all missionaries! This mission will certainly be a mission among the people… but we will leave it to you to discover its beauty!

With great affection, esteem, and gratitude, we send you a big hug; for those we are unable to hug in Italy, we look forward to seeing you in Mozambique for an experience you will remember for a lifetime!

Ilaria and Federica CLM Carapira