Filomena's House

Today was a reminder of exactly why I'm here. Lately I'd been questioning the charity's purpose here. I'd been expecting bigger class sizes and had expected everyone to be queueing up wanting to learn. So far, from what I've heard and seen, it's a very small minority that want to learn and a vast majority that are happy with the status quo. We've tried hard to get people to come along, they do know that it's free, but they just don't seem to see the point in bothering.

That makes me wonder what exactly I - or anyone else - can do to help Mozambicans or even Africa as a whole. I'm starting to conclude that it's only really Mozambicans that can help themselves. Maybe us volunteers can help with education and a few other small things, but they need to realise why they need it. They need to realise that it doesn't always have to be the same, they can do better if they want.

Anyway, this is just a short blog to explain that I've realised one way I/we can help. It's small, granted, and it's also short-term, but that seems to be the way in which I/we can help.

Today we went to the house of an elderly lady named Filomena. She doesn't come to the elderly classes because she can't walk. She shuffles very slowly along the dirt, using her hands only to help her along. She has a wheelchair but it's useless around the house and for tending to her crops.

We went to Filomena's house because Francis usually visits her; to see if she's ok and as he hadn't been able to do that for a while, we went along too. Filomena had quite a lot of land, she has little food and she has no money. As we arrived she was in her garden, planting what I later understood to be maize. She waits for it grow and eats it - is there a better definition of hand to mouth? She's got a daughter who lives far away, but it's Mozambican culture to not really care for the elderly. There's obviously no pension here and if you can't work, you go hungry.

Once Filomena had eventually shuffled over to us, she was lovely, I had no idea what she was saying, but she was welcoming and hugged us both. She was smiling a lot, even when she explained that she had no food. I found it very impressive and humbling to see that she's managed to cope almost entirely alone, modifying her house, garden and washing facilities once her legs stopped working. There was a washing line that looked quite high for her, but Francis said she uses a stick and when it's finished, it looks like it's been done by hand.

There isn't really a realistic long-term solution for people like Filomena, but it seems that she is one of the reasons we're here. There's no money in the charities coffers at the moment, so we went to the market to get things from our own pockets. By the evening Francis took a goody bag of vegetables, sugar, rice and a few other things. That should keep her going for a little longer.

I know that there's other people in need of help, and although Filomena is one of the more needy, I know that you can't help everyone. If there's a reason we're here, maybe it's to offer these short-term solutions until Mozambicans realise what they need to do to help themselves.

This is the lady herself with her hand-sown crops behind her.