New Program in Mozambique Helps Vulnerable Households
HOPE's new program in Chokwe will target 1,000 vulnerable households with opportunities to participate in our Village Savings and Loans(VSL) program as well as receive comprehensive health education.
Chokwe is a district about 230 kilometers north of Mozambique’s capital city of Maputo. The Chokwe district is a rural area with a population of about 62,000 people. Most of the residents live off of the land as subsistence farmers.
Chokwe is known for producing amazing tomatoes as well as other vegetables due to excellent soil and an irrigation system that was put in years ago, and is now being rehabilitated to cover 33,000 Hectacres that will be completed in 2013.
In 2000 Chokwe was completely devastated during catastrophic floods, but over the last few years, the district has managed to rebuild itself. Chokwe is also a hub for migration to South Africa, and when you go there you notice a lack of middle aged men as most of them are in South Africa working in the mining sector.
HOPE’s new program in Chokwe will target 1,000 vulnerable households with opportunities to participate in our Village Savings and Loans(VSL) program as well as receive comprehensive health education. In addition, Project HOPE will be partnering with a local organisation to help provide education on how to improve agricultural output and access to markets to sell excess produce. Project HOPE will also be providing training to local NGOS on how to run successful VSL groups in the future, thus building their capacity.
Now, let me introduce you to our staff who will be running the project:
Valente Langa – District Supervisor
Valente was born in Manjacazi in Gaza Province 1958. He is married with 3 children – 2 boys and 1 girl. He lives in Chokwe and has been working for Project HOPE for 4 years. Before this he was working for ORAM – Rural association that helps a lot which is a local community based organization that helps communities in agriculture for example how to create vegetable gardens, how to legalise land etc.
Hortencia Laurindo – Village Savings Loan Promoter
Hortencia was born in Manjacazi in Gaza Province 1969. She is widowed with 5 children-4 girls and 1 boy. She lives in Chokwe and has been working for Project HOPE for 4 years. Before this she worked for Kulima, Benaterras, Quimgera which is a company that sells chemicals.
Zaida Muchanga – Village Savings Loan Promoter
Aissa Abdul Gany – Administrative Assistant
Aissa was born in 1989 in Quelimane and is one of 9 children. She currently lives in Maputo and has been working for Project HOPE since 2008 first in our Milange office as our district accountant, then in Maputo as our admin assistant.
Daniel Chaluco – Driver
Daniel was born in Chibuto in 1961. He is married with 7 boys. He has been working for Project HOPE for 5 years. Before this he worked for MODEFA for 3 years. This was a community based organization working on home based care projects for people living with HIV/AIDS.