Carla's last report from the project

Hey people!!! Here I am again but next time I will tell you everything personallyJ.

I don’t know if I’m happy or sad because I’m leaving. There are some days I’m counting even the hours that are missing and there are others that the students just put me almost crying and I have the feeling I don’t want to leave.

Now here it’s every time cold and raining. Like I’m sure that everyday the sun is  going to raise, I also know that water from the sky is going to fall on the ground.

For the reason that I’m leaving in less than 3 weeks, I’m working like hell to finish my small’s projects before. I started an English club where I teach them English in a funny way since I noticed that here the students almost don’t have time to breath and the leisure moments are reduced. We are really having fun and on the end of the class the team that wins the game also wins a small gift. I’m training a dancing group just with girls and also the feminine football team. These last ones are giving to me a big headache since these girls can not arrive at time and there is a big percentage of seek people all the time also. For the football team, on the beginning I didn’t have any affluence but then I made a small championship between the different projects and they just loved it. After that I selected the best players and now we have a really good team. Its pity I’m leaving because I’m sure all these small projects are going to finish on that moment. In the other day the girls were begging me to not leave and I asked surprised: “why??? since I’m shouting with you all the time and for sure I wouldn’t like someone who would shout with me” and they answered that I’m the one who is keeping them united and no one will have the strength to do the same job as me cause they are really difficult. With those statements I stayed so exited since I didn’t notice they were able to see the struggle that I have to do every day for them.

           Now I’m going to talk about that project I promised you last time I would do it. So after a while I was here I felt these were not the kind of project I would like to be since I didn’t had time or work to do with the community. I discover that for sure the project I would love it would be TCE. Therefore on the first of December – International Day Against HIV& AIDS I planned with the students an entire day with the community where we would make a lot of activities like theatre plays, dances, songs, individual explanations and I also manage to get a lot of material like condoms, notebooks, pencils, sharpening, rubbers and posters. But (there is all the time a but) on the day before a newborn baby died so we have to cancelled all the action because everyone went to the funeral. Later than was impossible to do it so all the material stayed with me.  After I came from my investigation period, since I was working almost one week with TCE project in Nacala, I had the idea to do the same and I start on that week with the help of Milan, who was here also for investigation. And with this small project I found my place, I have already some passionate that help me a lot, especially when I found people who just talk in dialect. Beside I’m distributing male condoms I’m also distributing the female ones. When I went to get the box from condoms the guy who gave it to me said I wouldn’t be able to distribute even ten female condoms because the women don’t like it. But here, in Nsauca, the women are running after me all the time to give them more and more. The only problem I found is with the kids since they want also condoms to make balls and balloons to play. At this moment it’s just missing something like 4 houses to finish. My next step will be to make a letter for the responsible entities to bring here a test unit because the most part of the population said to me they never get tested for the reason that is too far and expensive to go till the next healthy center. I don’t know if I will be able to make them to come before I’ll leave but I have to struggle to do it since I’m sure after I leave will be very difficult for the ones who want to continue my project to succeed. Because here it’s everything about power and this kind of companies just help initiatives coming from influential people so I have to use my power of foreigner, beautiful girl and nice smile (as they say in the school) to get this kind of things. The kind of relation I have with the community is also balancing me to not want to leave from here sometimes. They are calling to me all the time like “Mamã’, a way to show respect, ‘Mana Carla’ to show friendship and the kids call me ‘Titia” a sweet way to say aunt. Its so nice to play and be with them…

            Well, now I’m also planning my trip to Maputo where I and Mokas decided to not go by plane and get the change to know a lit bit more of this Incredible Mozambique.

Oh I forgot that now I’m starting also a partnership group to try to get sponsors to help the school and the teachers, I just started 4 days ago and for now I’m making researches of the enterprises around Lichinga. I hope before I leave I will write and send some the most part of the letters or go personally there to talk face to face. As you can see, just for three weeks I have a lot to do so I will finish my last report and back to work…

             A big hug for all of you and the next one, don’t forget, will be from flesh to flesh.

Carla Martinho

April team 2009