Cyclone Idai, Mozambique March – May 2019

The photos we publish here give only a tiny glimpse of the disaster.

Even as the cyclone was hitting the coast of Mozambique, our Pro-Vision Mozambique Executive Directors, based in Xai Xai, Mark and Les Harper were mobilizing for action. Having been involved in the relief work following the floods of the year 2000 they were well aware of what was needed and what the priorities would be.

They soon discovered that there were several other groups taking similar action, and so to prevent duplication of efforts and resources, formed the Mozambique Relief Coalition (MRC). This has mostly worked very well, as many of the individuals are believers who are there to serve and help, with no desire for recognition.

The strategy was to take care of water needs first. You can live sixty days without food, but only ten days without water. Initially, drinking water was dropped off by helicopter or delivered by boat, but as soon as it became possible, filtration and purifications systems were set up. In the more remote areas, buckets with filtering systems attached, supplied by a church in Texas, were handed out.

In the first week or two reaching the more remote areas with anything besides a helicopter was a major challenge. Teams would take chainsaws and spades with them to cut up the trees that had fallen across the roads, and to fill the gullies. A trip of 45km took 2 days.

Food, and drugs to combat the cholera were the next priority. Appeals were made to churches, corporates, and individuals, and the response was gratifying. The challenge then became to distribute the hundreds of tonnes of purchased or donated food to the areas where it was most needed.

It was wisely decided to engage the churches in the ruined towns and villages to partner with us in the distribution, and in identifying areas of greatest need. This plan has borne good fruit, as the people recognised that it was the hand of God that has provided for them.

Clothing and shelter then became a pressing need. Large quantities of tents and tarpaulins were donated or purchased, and many tonnes of clothing have been donated from around South Africa. People were found wearing clothes that they had on when the cyclone hit a month before.

MRC have started a program called “Work in exchange for Food”. The people are happy to see the debris being cleared and roads and infrastructure being rebuilt in exchange for food.

In the town of Bandau, after a week or two of distributing food, clothing, medicines, building materials, hoes and seed for replanting the crops, it was decided to show the Jesus film with our mobile setup. The announcement was made a couple of days in advance, and we were expecting a few hundred to attend. Thousands pitched up. Glory to God! The movie made a massive impact. As I write this tonight, we are showing the Jesus movie in another town. Mark says the mosquitoes and sand fleas are causing them some distress there.

MRC have had a constant stream of volunteers coming down from Gauteng and other provinces in convoys, bringing donated supplies, and lending a hand in Mozambique with the physical work. We praise God for that.

In spite of seven weeks of massive effort by large numbers of volunteers, a great amount of work remains to be done. We anticipate that the ongoing work of reconstruction and restoration will take several years. The resources needed for this are enormous and the Mozambican government are in no way equipped to deal with it. We appeal to you for help. Donations can be made on our Donations page.

Please be assured that 100% of your donation goes to the relief work. All our people are volunteers who are responsible for their own support. We allow only 5% for admin costs, – bank charges, accounting costs, audit fees, etc. Thank you for you generosity. May God bless you and prosper you.