One Different Reality

In this post I'll describe one of the most gratifying experiences of the past weeks: the visits to the off grid villages!

The centre of Maputo is well provided with energy, tar roads and robust buildings, but just by crossing the river, one can have a totally different perspective of how the standards of living actually work.

It is almost an odyssey to make this trip. The inexistent bridge is planned to be finished by the end of 2017, until then the crossing is ensured by two rusty ferry boats, where local staff make sure every inch of the boat is filled with some car, people, vegetable or noisy chicken.

Along the journey we'll come across with some fishing sailing boats with fabric sales and wooden cask.

 

 

Once you get to the other side, you are welcomed by street vendors full of cashews and peanuts. The access to the villages is not always easy, you need a strong 4x4 jeep and a brave driver, because the chances of you being stuck in the sand are enormous.

 

 

On the way there are plenty of children in uniforms coming or going to the school. Almost with no exception they stop whatever they are doing and start screaming and pointing fingers at us: "Mulungo, Mulungo!!!" (which means white people).

 

 

 

In the villages visited there are one, two or three water wells, where people manually extract the water to boil it after for daily use. The houses are not electrified, they use mainly candles and querosene lamps to illuminate at night. I was so surprised to see in one of the non-electrified wooden houses one television passing a random commercial. The proud owner was later showing us the little solar panel he has in the roof, connected to an old car battery where he can store energy and even charge the phones of the community in change of 10 MT (Mozambican currency).

 

The chickens, cows and every other animal are kept very close with the people. It is often to be surprised with a dark passive bull once you turn to check the view besides the house.

 

To finalize the post, a picture of the solar panel we delivered this week =D That day was one of the longest so far; there was only one ferry boat working (the smaller one btw), so the crossing logistics was taking almost 4 times more than usual. We had to wait in the jeep line for 5 hours before we could get in the ferry, and the same the way back. To help the party, the waiting time of the return trip was under a heavy tropical storm which made our working day finish at around 12p.m. but with a full heart!