tv show

A couple months ago a film crew was here to film the work that Hands at Work/Rubatano is doing in Mozambique. This Sunday (the 19th) the program will be shown on the "Living Truth" Ministries program. You can look at their website for the time and channels that it will be shown:

http://www.livingtruth.ca/.

It is a great way for everyone to see where I work, and the people that I get to work with. There is a chance I might be on it as well (possibly not though as I had a little spot on the South African Living Truth episode that was shown last week).

I hope everyone will get a chance to watch it!

Vovo

“Vovo” is the Mozambican term for Grandmother. Vovos are holding this country together. AIDS is devastating Mozambique and many other African countries. It is wiping out a generation of mothers and fathers, and aunts and uncles, and is leaving thousands and thousands of orphans. Every day in Africa 6000 kids are orphaned- that is 180,000 every month. Can you imagine? In Zambia, where I was last month, 23% of the children are orphans. It is usually the Grandmothers who take in these children. It is heartbreaking to see these old women, baby on back, walking miles and miles to carry firewood, fetch water, or work in the fields.

A couple months ago our friend Lynn from Hands at Work South Africa came to Mozambique on his way to Zimbabwe. While there, he met an old Vovo who was taking care of 17 kids. Some were her grandkids, and some were orphaned neighbor children. They were all living in one room- renting the other room of their house out to make some income. She was taking care of 17 kids in a country where it is extremely hard just to feed yourself.

The woman in this picture is a Vovo from one of the local communities. I love this picture. It shows the strength that these women have. Strong, stoic, and proud. We need to be helping these women and children.