In an area that is as beautiful as it is remote, Tearfund partner, the diocese of Niassa, is working to change lives through the power of the local community. Almost untouched by modern society, this corner of Mozambique is cut off from the world by a lake, forest-clad mountains and crocodile-infested rivers.
But while the politicians are yet to make an impact on the area – health services, good roads, economic empowerment and education are poor – other markers of 21st century life are clearly visible: illegal gold mines on the shores of Lake Malawi are threatening their water and food supply and the AIDS pandemic is decimating the population and creating a generation of orphans.
Yet here the church lives. Some 80 per cent of people are Anglican Christians and local churches are the hope of the future. Across more than 300 congregations, the diocese of Niassa teaches about HIV, good sanitation and basic healthcare.
‘There are lots of vulnerable kids and orphans looking after sick parents – the communities are pulling together to help them, says Rebecca vander Meulen, the HIV coordinator for the Diocese. ‘One group helped to re-roof a house and get the kids enrolled in school. They also asked a local trader for free blankets for them, which he donated.’
Much of their HIV work involves helping support-groups that discuss, among other things, why it is important to get tested. The Diocese teaches that in Christ, there is no difference between those who are living with HIV and those who are not – a lesson which has had a significant impact:
‘Churches have been transformed through engaging with the problem of HIV,’ adds Rebecca. ‘People are really learning about grace’.
Amid epic journeys to deliver supplies and against colossal odds, these Christians are – as Tearfund’s Edgar van Hoek says ‘a living testimony to the determination, sacrifice and love of God’s people to serve the communities in which they live and bring the reality of God’s kingdom to earth.’