by Nanette Braun, UNV Information Officer

11 September 1998

Bonn, Germany: "I'm glad to help build up my country again. When I came back to Mozambique it was hard. So many things had changed, so much had been destroyed." For ten years, Justino Segredo was a refugee, living in a camp in Zambia. When the civil war came to end, Justino returned. Now he is a UNV Field Worker in a Community Development project. Some 35 UNV Field Workers, the majority of them nationals, are working in rural communities in Mozambique.

People here are struggling hard in the aftermath of the war; 60-70% of all rural families are estimated to live below the poverty line in terms of food consumption. Many of them have had to start from scratch again: more than six million Mozambicans fled across the borders or were displaced in the turmoil of the conflict. In addition, large numbers of demobilised soldiers, released into civilian life, have been confronted with the need to make a living.

Finding ways and means to do so is what the UNV Field Workers assist with. They introduce new skills to provide people with a source of income; they help getting access to micro-credit; and they discuss overall needs and possible solutions within the communities. The aim is to foster people's own capacities and encourage them to join forces. "Most people tell us all they need is money", says Abel Kabungo, a UNV Field Worker from Zambia. "But then we start to talk: Which activities could be developed? What can be achieved with little or no money at all? And who could you work together with? That's how groups are established."

The work of Justino, Abel and their UNV Field Workers colleagues is an integral part of UNV's efforts to support and strengthen Mozambique in this difficult period of reconstruction. They are partners for people in development, opening up new perspectives for the future on the local level. The followingpages illustrate their tangible work.

"Cow's Eye, Sugar Cane, Diamond Star"- in a small community outside of Xai-Xai, people listen carefully as Amelia Weaver points out a large variety of different knots which eventually transform endless meters of white cotton into beautiful batiks. Some 30 students have so far graduated in the six-month course which the UNV Field Worker from Sierra Leone conducts, the first nine graduates have already started to produce for their own business. The colourful materials which are not traditionally known in Mozambique are becoming a familiar sight in the neighbouring villages. Through Amelia's initiative, the centre square of the village regularly turns into a big open-air workshop. Four times a week, people come for two hours to be trained not only in batik, but also in sewing, macramee or in preparing mahou, a sweet potato drink. It did not take long for the word to spread beyond Xai-Xai: when the son of Mozambique's President Chissano got married, 32 wedding guests ordered batik material for their dresses.

A bath against tick infections is ill appreciated among goats. While they are being dipped into the zinc tub, the animals are screaming at the top of their lungs. "That way you can hear how well we are taking care of them", says Armindo Banze and laughs. The national UNV Field Worker has assisted in setting up a special kind of revolving fund: its assets are livestock; technical advice came from his colleague Amelia, who studied veterinarian techniques in London. The principle is simple: small groups share five female and one male goat. For each nanny-goat, two females have to be "paid back" into the fund to be provided to new members. Since the fund started with 42 animals one year ago, 19 young goats have been born. The only "problem": too many of them are male.

Akazi Akuverana means "Women United" in Sena, the local language spoken in Nhamatanda. It's the name that Dona Monica, Dona Flavia and Dona Domingas chose for themselves when they started to cultivate a plot two years ago. The land is well located, right next to the river. A neighbouring farmer helps out with his waterpump, the women pay for the fuel. Today, tomatoes, okras, onions and garlic grow in abundance on the field. Useful advice came from UNV Field Worker Justino Segredo. His know-how on farming stems from the time when he was a member of an agricultural cooperative in the Zambian refugee camp where he lived during the war. Justino could also help the three women get access to a $500 loan from a revolving UNV fund which they added to savings they had made by selling cakes. It has proven to be a good investment: the first harvests were so good that Monica, Flavia and Domingas have every reason to be confident about the future of Akazi Akuverana.

The enterprise of Antonio Raul, Paulino Natar and their six partners can be found in a squatter area at the outskirts of Beira, Mozambique's second largest city. When they started to dry fish five years ago, they processed some 60 kilos per week; nowadays, one ton of fish is being salted and then spread on large plastic sheets in front of their shack every week. The customers are coming from far beyond their neighbourhood by now, but the team is already planning ahead again: they want to market their produce as far as Shimoyo, some 2-3 hours from Beira provided they can arrange for the transport. UNV Field Worker Abel Kabungo was able to arrange for a $200 loan and conducted an accounting course with the thriving young entrepreneurs. With the money the group built proper salt tanks to replace the old oil barrels which corroded quickly. They also want to fix their storage house which is so far not more than a bamboo scaffold covered with sacks. One uncertainty remains: Antonio and his partners are still waiting for the local authorities to assign them a permanent space to settle; in the squatter area, the future remains uncertain despite their success.

"In the army, everything is given to you. You just wait for your food or your clothes to be distributed. Now we have families to take care of." Jussa Mussa Goba was a student when he was enlisted. After ten years as a soldier, he has found it hard to start a new life. In Nhamantanda, he is working together with a group of other demobilised soldiers and internally displaced persons. UNV Field Worker Abel Kabungo helped them to develop a business plan to raise poultry. A $150 loan provided the financial means to buy the first 300 chickens. Earlier efforts to venture into agriculture had already been marked by successes and set-backs alike: the crops the group cultivated promised a good harvest - until a flood ruined their efforts. To make things worse, the farmland is now claimed back by the former owner who had left during the war. Now their hopes rest on the chickens. Within six weeks they will have grown to be sold on the market.

Jeremiah Tivane has run a small tin-metal workshop since he had to make a living of his own. But it was not until Peter Butage Malemi from Tanzania and his national colleague Aldevina Buque came as UNV Field Workers to the village of Fidel Castro, formerly Namphondzoene, that he considered the possibility of scaling up his business with a credit. In 1997, he obtained a $100 Trickle-Up loan. "Now my children can go to school, and there is enough money for household supplies." For Jeremiah Tivane, who is handicapped since he contracted a polio infection as a child, it is reassuring to see his family well provided for. With a credit out of a UNV revolving fund, Peter and Aldevina have also helped set up a cooperative store for the residents of Fidel Castro. And Peter has introduced fuel saving stoves. More than one hundred families are cooking by now on these brick stoves produced from anthill soil, grass and riversand.