Mateque final report

Our first visit ever when we arrived in Mozambique was the Mateque School.  We worked with them for months mostly learning what exactly we should be doing as missionaries. 

We asked for a plan of action for the future of the school.  Izidro worked with his community to come up with that plan and presented it to us.  It was more of a list of needs rather than a plan of action.  We worked with him to hone that up into a real plan of action.  Now we have a maintenance plan for the future to add to that first plan of action.  That is progress.

Their needs list included

metal doors, grating for their windows and frames, locks for the doors, secretary desks and chairs, desks for students, storage cabinets for the textbooks, and textbooks. Electrical supplies,  computers, a printer, and a typewriter, community involvement, and a guard.

This first plan included who was responsible for supplying the school with these items, what the objective of having these items was, the deadline, and then a note regarding each.  Not bad for a plan.

We chose to work with them supplying electrical supplies and refurbishing supplies to secure their classrooms to protect the desks, the cacifos and the teacher’s desks and textbooks.  They would supply the rest needed, work to install and upgrade classrooms and a guard. 

We asked at this time, to work with the community on coming up with a maintenance plan.

Because we were so new, the work was slow.  Finding bids and working out details was slow.  We finally got a supplier for the refurbishing supplies who would deliver it out to Mateque, a desk supplier who we felt we could trust and a textbook supplier.

This is Ceasar from the Marracuene District in Capulana Shirt.

We also went with Izidro to his District Director, Cremilde Narunga, Marracuene District Director. Our first meeting with her showed us many places we needed to work.  The Welfare Principles were not being applied much here from what we could find.  We wanted to make sure Cremilde was supportive of us supplying Izidro with textbooks when we understood the Government was supplying textbooks.  We needed her support for the things we were doing to work with Izidros school.  The impression we got was that she thought there were much more “needy” schools to be working with and Izidro was rather brash in his character.  Why did we pick him?  We came away with a feeling that we had at least done what we came to do, which was to let her know we were working with Izidro, even though we felt Cremilde was not very supportive of Izidro and his school.

Then the work began.  We paid for the materials to refurbish and checked off the delivery.

How exciting that was.  Izidro said his school was hoping we would come thru with our promise but they had been let down so much from so many, they weren’t counting on us.  When we got the materials there, they did the work and refurbished those classrooms in no time at all.  We promised that when they had the rooms refurbished, we would supply them with the books and the desks.

Here are the two men that were integral in the book supply, Imran and Mayzer. The books were delivered in 3 sessions.  Oh the joy!

The whole community came out to haul the desks from 200 yards outside the school grounds to the school.  The truck couldn’t get any closer.

The children and teachers were so excited to be a part of the delivery.  They held a beginning of school activity showing their gratitude even before the desks and books were delivered.  They were convinced we would keep our promise after the refurbishing supplies were delivered.  What a difference in confidence.

We went to give our final picture show of success to Cremilde and invite her once again to the closing ceremony to be held that Saturday, February 27, 2016.  She welcomed us so differently this time.  She showed gratitude we did not expect for the work done at Mateque.  She said she had a meeting but would try very hard to be at the closing ceremony.  AS we were telling her of the champion we found in Izidro in his ability to move the community to support the school, she came up with a story about her own children’s school asking the parents to provide 100 mets per child to help build another building.  She was beginning to see what the Welfare Principles are all about.  We came away from this meeting much encouraged that she could be learning what we had hoped to teach thru our project at Mateque.  Our goal is to help teach the districts thru our projects that the Welfare Principles can be learned and then applied anywhere there are people who want to improve and are willing to learn, “champions”.  She did not show as much enlightenment as Tiago did but there was hope.

The closing ceremony was amazing.

The talks on maintaining what they had been given could have been read right out of the manual.  The community chefi, the school chefi, the director, the students, the community members and even the Bishop showed forth application of the “Welfare Principles”.  If these principles can be taught and then learned and then applied, our project is a success, no matter what it is that we have given them.

The only thing missing was someone from the District.  Just as we were closing the meeting and everyone was going home, here came Cesar from the District.  We were so glad he was able to meet the Bishop, the School and Community Chefi’s and take a tour of the progress with all the supplies from the project.  He was invited to plant a tree in memory of this occasion along with four others of us. The above picture shows the Chefis, the District rep, the Bishop, Izidro, Benildo, our interpreter and me. Success in getting them all together to meet.

Our discussion after the meeting was very enlightening.  We felt that Cesar was beginning to see what it is that we are looking for to partner with a school in a project.  He brought up a little school we had visited in the beginning and how they were so concerned with it.   Why didn’t we help that school? That was one they were really concerned with.

I got to share my opinion of that.  When we were there, we could see they had been built a new classroom, with water barrels outside, and filled with desks and a chalkboard.  There was another building that was given to them as well, with glass in the windows, a good roof, a solid foundation up out of the floods and filled with desks.  While we were there, I could see the desks that had been freely given them were broken up, burned, used as props for other things or moved out of the building built for them and they only had about 10 working desks if that many.  While we were there, a student or several students broke one of the windows while their teacher was talking to us.  What did they do? They didn’t even get up and go talk to them.  They said, “kids will be kids” and kept begging us to give them things; another classroom so they could have 6^th grades stay there instead of walk so far to the other school.

My comment was “This is why we did not choose to work with them.  They did not take care for the things they had been given.  This is why we chose Izidro instead.  He was teachable and willing to work with us.”

Cesar left saying he would relate this comment to Pazimani in hopes they can learn what they need to do to enlist our services.

This showed us that Cesar is beginning to learn the Principles and Supporting Outcomes of Welfare also.  This is success.

We have felt the Principles of Welfare are beginning to blossom at this school in Mateque.  We hope to follow their progress throughout the rest of our mission.  We hope and pray the District will see and support these great principles and strive to spread these principles into all the schools of the Marracuene District.

Sister Petersen

Tiago, Elder and Sister Petersen, Senda

We just got word that Madelena's school project is closed!!!

Let us share a true miracle.  We presented the success of the project to Madelena’s District Director, Tiago.  As we told him of Madelena’s change of attitude, and her willingness to take responsibility of future work on the school, Tiago told us that he recognized our work as the right way to do it.  That is getting the community involved and supporting the school.  He then told us he has a partnership with another NGO that is fixing up latrines.  This NGO complained to him that they have to go back often and fix and repair vandalism.  He said the problem is because there is no communication between the school and the community.  There was no “buy in” to the project.  They did not value what they had received. Then he said to us, “If every NGO would work the way you do, we would make great progress.”  He could see that just giving things away was harming his country and he admitted it.  Then he said ,”I want my entire district to use these principles.  We are going to have a meeting where Madelena will share her success and explain how she did it and we will have all the school directors in the district reach out to their communities to get the support needed to take care of their schools.” He also said that he recognized some schools that simply are waiting for the hand out to come.  He knows this is not right.  He has invited us to be a part of this training where we can share the welfare principles.  All of this he said without our coaching.  All we did was share Madelena success and he took off with this great information he knew. He introduced us to his area supervisors. (about 15) He also said to his area supervisors that they were to get an accounting from each school of the condition of the school and what items they had. The area supervisors were to get a report from each of them.  An accounting would be made of them on a regular basis. (All with very little coaching from us if any.)  He told us that he felt from the very first time we met that when we shared the welfare principles with him that we were people he knew would make a difference.  We felt the spirit all thru the meeting as we talked.  We are sure this was because true principles were being discussed and recognized and the spirit  bore witness.

What a miracle.

When we first met Madelena and her staff, we found a school that, in our opinion, was blessed with many things, more than most that we had seen.  We felt there was little that we could offer them being so well endowed all ready.

However, as we were given the tour, we could see many places we could help but were surprised at the things they did ask us to help with.  We have found it is so very important to only give things they ask for. 

These two pictures show a flooring problem that they never asked for.  Painting of the walls was 

never asked for.

Latrine refurbish was never asked for.  There were many things we saw on the first tour that we could see that could be offered but they were not asked for.

The things they asked for were more desks, electrical, a mobile library, and teacher instruction on special needs kids and a printer for their computer.

No latrine work.  No ceiling work. No floor repair!  Well OK then!  We will work with what they put on their list as their highest priority.

We chose to supply the electrical supplies to refurbish their electrical and 100 of the 270 desks needed.  Their part was to supply the labor to put in the electrical needs and secure the school to keep vandalism and theft down.  They said they would close the back gate and hire a guard to help secure the school and find someone who could put the electrical in. 

In the beginning as we were developing the project, we were thinking of how we could teach Welfare Principles. What we found in the beginning was a resistance to the idea that the community could be asked for support.  After Elder Petersen taught the principles of community service and saving for the future by using the example of a bucket with holes and that it is hard to get water to the house when your bucket has holes in it.  Elder Petersen said, “Your school bucket has holes in it.  If you will fill those holes or get a new bucket, you will be able to get what you need.” Madelena was willing to go to the community and at least ask.  When she said this, we felt the spirit enter the room.  This was a huge step in the right direction.  Next time we came, she was beaming with the success she had had with the community participation.  This idea of the resource she had in the parents of her children grew with each meeting we had.  We could feel the light of Christ enter our meetings more and more as her wall of doubt dropped more and more.

After they had supplied a guard, we started the process of ordering the electrical supplies.  Madelena was still working on the closing of the gate and getting someone that could put in the electrical.  When she had a person willing to put in the electrical, we brought the electrical supplies to her and put them in a secure place until the labor could be performed.  We promised we would have the 100 desks to her as soon as the electrical was in place.

  

This is the gate they are still working to close.  Here is the vendor that supplied the electrical materials we put in our truck and took to the school to store.

Picture of the materials being stored in their office for protection is the one with the secretary sitting.  The next picture shows Madelena so proud of the electrical box in the office so they can eliminate vandalism of electrical parts that are used in the classrooms.  The next picture is a fluorescent bulb put in above the office.  The next picture is a socket without a light bulb, to be screwed in at night when they have something at night going on or for security reasons.  They don’t want the students to break it while they are playing during the day.  Good maintenance plan eh!

The huge 18 wheeler truck could not get down those narrow paths to get to the school.  Baharan, the desk vendor, knew just what to do.  Why were we worryin?.  They unloaded the 18 wheeler right there on the road and left these two gentlemen to guard those 100 desks.  Then with the smaller truck, they shuttled these desks into the school.  They knew all along.  We learned to just let them figure it out.  They can do it!  Let them!

Kids were so excited to help move the desks it was hard to count them.  The teacher’s desks had chairs.  Here is a picture of Madelena and Bishop Tualufo, the bishop over this area, sitting next to Elder Petersen.  It was a glorious day.

I believe the highlights of this project have not been in the happiness of the children (although that is so rewarding).  It is in the opening of Madelena’s mind to the possibility that her community could support her and their children in a Government School, even though they already pay taxes for education.  She continues to grow in her knowledge of the resource she has in her community.