Overwhelm me with exactly what I asked for

It's been two days of work here in Mozambique and already I can write a novel--or at least a novella. Of course, I would be that foreigner who came in for 2 days and figured out how to 'Save Africa', and clearly, that is not at all my intention. So, I won't give you my remedies, but I will give you my thoughts and fact about the experience. Matola has become my playground for research and limitless misunderstanding.

It has been a crude awakening, confirming all of the nightmares I have read about. They are all true, but the reality, much worse. I realize I have been getting my news from foreign non-governmental organizations who report the poor situation in health and thought, whole heartedly, that they were reporting the truth of the situation. Maybe the words were not convincing enough, the numbers not striking enough--but why is it that the people in the West misinterpret the situation here? Why is it that we do not travel here to do it ourselves? Can we not leave our comforts? Is it that we do not know someone here? Do we not have the interest? Are we afraid? Do we not have the means? .. I digress.

The point was to report back on what I observe and to design a plan that will best benefit the people of Mozambique, the people of Matola. I can go on rants about caring about this and that for days, but the truth of the matter is that it simply is. Take it or leave it. I take.

Starting on Monday I met with the gracious Director of all Social Affairs of the city of Matola. Abel, the Director, oversees a range of affairs such as education, health, etc is the coordinator of all of the many parts that makes the city run. Abel, a very humble man, gave his time to us on his feriada (holiday, National Independence Day), to help me find the many hospitals around Matola and to give me his brilliant insights on how the city functions and what it is he does and oversees. He was the best source of primary education I could have asked for. For holistic information, this is the perfect sort of character you'd hope to meet when doing the type of research I am doing.

Some Matola background:

• Population: 600,000 - 620,000 (World Gazetteer projects 675,422 in 2007 and 701,999 for 2008 with a 3.93% growth rate)
  
• my question: who is right about these numbers--not that it helps...
  
• in comparison: Santa Fe is growing at a 1.5% annual rate, with a population of 144,000--and we seem to think it's growing too fast.
  
• 11 hospitals
• 6 full time doctors--FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
  
• 61 primary schools (grade 1-7)
  
• 6 secondary schools (grade 7-12)
• Students attend schools in 3 different shifts. First wave comes in the morning until 1/3 of the day, the rest follow. There is no full day of school.
• around 45% of the students must attend school beneath a tree. There are not sufficient classrooms.
• The average teacher has around 700 students.
  
• (I have a TON more info like this to come...as soon as I get my copies back...)
  
• Divided into 3 parts to be governed by 3 different posts (like sub-mayors)
• There is still an underlying tribal system that empowers some chiefs per area. Kind of like a local person to speak on behalf of the people (and they get great gifts/privileges for shaking hands and being at functions--[ahem..sound familiar?]).
  
• 60% of the people live outside of the 'citified' part of the city. Meaning, they do not reap the benefits of the city-run water system.
  
• City water stops running at 11a-12p everyday. It starts back up again early in the morning around 5a.
  
• This goes for city buildings such as HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, etc.
  
• the only way around this problem is to purchase a private water pump, muito caro (very expensive...)
• This does not include the 70% of people that have no running water, whatsoever.
  
• The average family size for 60% of the population is 10 or greater in one household
  
• This could be nieces, nephews, uncles, cousins, other peoples' children, single parents, etc.
  
• AIDS affects 26% of the population. That means 1 in 4 or more are infected with AIDS.
  
• this is only an average. It could be more in some places--which is more likely the case.
  
• The numbers of infected rise dramatically if it is a female around the age of 18-25 or a male around the age of 30-45.
  
• Get it? the males seduce the young girls and then infect them with HIV.
  
• There is no system of sanitation.
  
• Cholera is still a major problem in these areas--but only when it rains. Today, not so much a problem, thankfully.
  

This is where we scratched the surface about our conversation. He, Abel, had many of these numbers in his head. I started by asking him what he thought was the most acute health problems that Matola faces.

He numbered: 1) Maternal Health; 2) Malaria - based on the # of deaths and survivals; 3) AIDS - based on numbers and reactions to the virus and what needs to be done to continue to prevent it in the future; 4) Cholera - the prevention of future outbreaks.

Mind you, this is no health official. This is simply a man that oversees what is being done in many different departments. Even he had an idea of what needed to be done.

There are only 5 hospitals the give maternal health. If someone does not live near this hospital, and say, for instance, they live in the more rural area, they cannot reach a taxi, there is no means of calling an ambulance, they may not even know who to call if they are uneducated about the system. They are simply stranded. This is 70% of the city. This is the 70% of people that live too far from the limited amount of hospitals and are too poor to afford services or even a taxi ride into the area where help can be reached.

Line into one of the hospitals in Matola.

Here is a standard life story of someone in Matola.

I'm born. I probably have no money. If I was born at night, my mother may take me to the hospital the next day. I had no choice but be born in my house because I had no other means--or maybe the hospital was closed. It may have been too late to go. The taxi would have gotten me there, but it's at least 1.5 km away, and there's no way my mother could have walked there in her condition. A day later I get to the hospital and get all of my polio and other vaccinations. It's obligatory for my mother to go through family planning classes to learn how to care for me. Yet, often, there is no one to teach such things and my mother would be much too tired after giving birth to me to learn those things, even if she wanted to. Now she must care for me and we must pay the extreme prices for anything else that we might need.
If I'm lucky, I make it to the age of 5. At 5, I can attend school. Hopefully my family can afford to pay for my uniform. Actually, it's much harder, because my father past when I was 2 years old. It's okay, though, he had two other women on the side and my mother was not happy about that. He would abuse her and growing up, I would have to watch. But now, I am 5 and I will go to school. Money is tough because we do not often have enough to eat. The hunger tears at my belly, but I will go to school.
I arrive to school and I realize that there is no building. We sit next to the corner store, (the highest selling item is alcohol), and we study beneath a tree. I dream I am Buddha trying to reach nirvana, but I can't get my mind off of the hunger pains. It's hard to concentrate, but we are learning nothing at this time. My teacher has gone to help his child at home and we are simply sitting. I play and draw squares in the sand. This happens at least twice a week.
By grade 5 I must past my exams to remain in school. I pass and can remain, but 30% of my classmates must depart. Those that did not know there would be an exam never imagined that they would not pass--and now they either return to their homes, but most of them will have to find a job. This is common and probably to come for myself. Our lives are survival.
I pass through 7th grade, but am not satisfied with the newest school system. There are very few schools and 5 of the 6 schools available are private. There are fees we must pay to say in. Thank goodness the religious groups are here to provide. 90% of the schools are run by different religious denominations. I don't care which one it is, although I have attended a protestant church once in a while--but I just want to get in...
I make it to 10th grade and now have to provide for my mother. She is on her death bed from AIDS. We have no money and now I must care for my brothers and sisters. I must find a job or leave my family. I will go tomorrow to find work on the roads. I have heard there is an opening selling tomatoes at the local market. I will see if I can talk to my father's old friend for a favor.
I will survive. I have had malaria three times in my life and survived and the cholera that broke near our neighborhood did not affect us. We have seen our brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins pass, but we survive. I now live for my mother. I must find her food in order to see that she can take the drugs she needs to survive. We will survive.

Okay, okay. Poetic licence or whatever. But honestly, this is a standard situation. Probably worse in reality--but life has its good.

I wanted to focus on this project as a health focus. It makes it easier to write a paper, fill out an application to focus efforts on one thing. Let's say I decide I want to stop AIDS and educate about that. This is an easy focus to begin upon. Yet, we get confused about what our priorities are and what the root of the problem is. This is what I must better understand. This is what I must figure out.

We visited 5 different hospitals in the area. I, the foreigner, took pictures of the restrooms. I photographed the street children, abandoned by the poverty of their parents who could no longer care for them; (30,000 per year in the area).

Mozambican street children.

A Standard Mozambican Restroom. a hole in the ground. the children are fearful of such a device due to haunting stories of children falling in. this is the standard toilet facilities for doctors and patients alike.

We departed from the many stories that Director of Social Affairs, Abel had to tell and we decided we had enough for the day.

2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.