The day care is the project that Bernadette started with in 2005.Before it started, Bernadette, together with the local people made and baked bricks by hand from the sand of the termite nests. They used these to construct the building for the day care.

The building has 4 class rooms.  In each class there are 25 orphan children between the ages of 3-6.  There are 4 teachers hired to instruct the children.  The children come 5 days a week from 7 am in the morning to approximately 1 pm in the afternoon. They receive a nutritious breakfast of for example sweet potatoes, corn mush or bread with tea.  Around noon the children receive another nutritious warm meal. This is extravagant for the children as at home there is often no breakfast and only one meal per day.

After the meal the children brush their teeth which is not normal (a habit) in Mozambique.  Young children already have rotten teeth. The children are checked weekly in the health care center for wounds or eye and ear infections.  Twice a year the children are de-wormed.  They try as much as possible to keep a good eye on the health of the children.

There are toys for the children to play with inside and playground equipment like climbing bars, a rope bridge, swings and see saws on the property.  Sport activities are organized each week to help in the development of their physical coordination. Fine motor skills are developed through instruction in coloring and hand crafts. They learn counting, to recognize letters, singing and instruction in various things in keeping with their age.

At age 6 the children are required to attend the local school.  The quality of education at the school is bad. Often there are no school books and the teacher is neither well educated nor motivated. Bernadette has good contact with the local schools. The people are very happy with the day care and see that, when the children from the day care go to the local school, they are sometimes a year ahead of the others. 

Click here for pictures of the day care

Despite the fact that orphans are often cared for by family members like grandmothers or aunts, it remains that these family members are also extremely poor.  The addition of a baby is often a big (too big) burden.  What frequently happens is that the grandmothers or aunts become so desperate that they throw the baby in the river.  A shocking fact, but the hard truth.

Bernadette found this so saddening that she started a milk powder project. In this project Bernadette also works closely with the local social service. It is necessary to have a reference card from the social service in order to receive milk powder.  There are between 30 -40 baby’s covered by this project. Ernesto is responsible for the administration of this project. He is a co-worker of the project and lives on the property.

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Adult education

Many women in Mozambique have little or no education due to the years of war. Approximately 85% of the women and many men are illiterate. In 2007 Bernadette started a project to teach women to read and write.

There are two levels of education.  There are two classes with about 25 women in each class. Bernadette works closely with the local social service. 

 The teachers are hired for this project in cooperation with the social service. Besides the literacy education the women are also taught a crafts, knitting or working with a sewing machine.  They come to the project in order to use the sewing machine because they don’t have one of their own.  Currently they are making dolls and hand bags. These are also available for purchase in the Netherlands.  In buying one these articles you support the women in Mozambique and provide them with a means of income.

You can order the dolls and hand bags under the option Contact.

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Health

CenterHealth care in Mozambique is in a very poor state as is the understanding of food preparation and hygiene. There is one hospital in Mocuba.  There are approximately 40 nurses, but it often happens that there is no doctor working.  The equipment and medication leave much to be desired, the hospital does not even have aspirin in stock. The result is that many people cannot even be treated for simple needs.

Because Bernadette is often in contact with the poorest part of the population, they would come to her for small medical needs like eye and ear infections or minor wounds.  She tried to help them as much as possible, but if it was beyond her capabilities she would provide money to go to the hospital.  It was this situation that gave Bernadette the idea to build a heath care center.  The emphasis is given to instruction in food preparation, hygiene and minor medical needs.

At the start of 2008 the caravan, where Bernadette first lived, was converted into a first aid station and a start made in the construction of a health center. Due to donations from individuals and a large financial gift from a church in Bunschoten the cost were covered to steadily continue their work.  A tree fell on the caravan in the beginning of 2009, but the new health care center was ready and could be put to use.

The health care center was under the leadership of Antti Niemela, a nurse from Finland.  He has returned to Finland and we are looking for a new nurse to fill this position.

Patients must first visit the local hospital before they can be treated.

Click here for more pictures of the Health Center