Recently the Health Board Department of the UMC in Mozambique provided a report on its activities occurring from June to September 2021, including mobile clinic activities.

Mozambique continues being terribly hit by the COVID-19 with a record of increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Public hospitals in the three main cities of Mozambique have added more beds for admissions, which are already full to capacity. There are, however, limited numbers of medical staff dealing with delicate cases of COVID illness.

In partnership with the Mozambique Ministry of Health, United Methodists are using mobile clinic brigades to serve isolated communities. The public health project focuses on pregnant women and children up to five years old. About $3,700 (U.S.) for the project was donated as part of the Mozambique Initiative.

Through your generous support, as of February 2021, the Missouri Conference contributed $44,648, providing 111 hand-washing stations! We are fortunate to support a project that is imagined by a local leader, developed in-country and supported by leadership. These elements contribute to sustainability and success in the community. Projects like this are where our U.S. donor dollars make the biggest impact.

Every fall since 2018, The Gathering Students youth group has aimed to raise $10,000-$12,000 to provide a well to a community in Mozambique. They’ve come close in years past but never raised more than $7,000. In fall 2020, the most unlikely of years, they met their goal, raising $10,700 for the Mozambique Initiative in just four short months. Leathers had committed to shaving his beard only if they hit the mark, so in early February he did, sharing the process with the group via YouTube video.

More than 424,202 people have been displaced so far. Mozambican population is approximately of 29 million people, and the displaced population represents about 1.4% living in this condition, corresponding to 86,562 families. Only 3,981 people are already in 13 accommodation centers established by the Government and partners (CIP- Centro de Integridade Publica).

An update on the Chicuque Twin House project.

We're celebrating the completion of the Muadja Clinic in Mozambique.

Amid the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Methodist Churches in Mozambique and Missouri continue to respond. Healthcare continues to be delivered through places like Muadja Clinic, Chicuque Rural Hospital, the Center of Hope and mobile clinics. Plus, we’ve discovered new opportunities to reach out and offer hope during the pandemic.

For the second year in a row, Bishop Farr mounted his Harley to lead a group of motorcyclists hundreds of miles around the state to raise awareness of the need for motorcycles among Mozambique clergy. At the stops Bishop Farr told those gathered that motorcycles are usually treated as recreation in the United States, but for pastors in Mozambique they are an essential means of transportation.

The Mozambique Initiative team presents their digital report for MOAC20.

Coronavirus in Mozambique is continuously creating difficulty in areas of social, cultural and economic growth. The situation is becoming a huge burden, especially to rural, illiterate and poor communities, who have limitations in understanding of prevention measures. Rural communities are caught in a difficult position to make certain decisions. They regularly break health measures of confinement in order to seek food and water at a distance and in places with high community concentrations.

As needs have increased, faithful churches and donors have looked for ways to continue to walk together with our sisters and brothers in Mozambique. As of July 1, the Mozambique Initiative has received $487,094.03. However, as the pandemic continues, so do the needs.

Stella Machel is starting a new adventure: The Master’s in Business Administration program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Though far from her home in Mozambique, Stella is no stranger to higher education. She completed a master’s program in finance at the University of London in 2013 and recently completed a Humphrey’s Fellowship at Boston University. MI has been privileged to walk with her along the way and share her story.

Communities across Mozambique lack the basic sanitation required to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Mozambique Initiative helps meet the greatest needs of partner communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Our partners in Mozambique shared their hope to supply hand-washing stations to all Methodists institutions across the country - hospitals, schools, church missions, orphanages, elderly centers and churches.