06 June 2012—
We got an earlier start than usual today and as we were traveling into the familiar crush of morning traffic in Xai-Xai, I couldn’t help but notice that the more time I spend here, the more this way of life seems completely normal to me. There is a comforting feeling about the way that people on the streets greet one another as they pass by, and the hustle of the markets opening for the day resembles something of a gathering of friends.
Staying among these people leaves me feeling that I am missing out on a huge portion of life because relationships here trump everything. Fields have no boundaries because families don’t need contracts to understand where their land ends and their neighbor’s land begins. I asked one of the men working with us from World Hope about what’s to stop someone from taking the crops from another person’s field, and after looking somewhat confused at my question, he simply stated, “That would never happen. Land is passed down from generation-to-generation and we don’t need to sign anything to make sure someone doesn’t try to steal it. The crime is very low here. Small incidents are handled within the villages, and you wouldn’t want to mistreat your neighbors when you have to see them every day.”
Consequently, because of their strong collectivist nature, children in Mozambique are extremely well-behaved. Today, I tried to explain to our translator, Isa, the fact that it is considered extremely rude to discipline other people’s children in America. Her quick, surprised response was, “Really?! So, you can’t tell someone’s child to stop what they’re doing if you don’t know them?” I told her that if I attempted to do that out in public, or even if it was simply the child of a friend, that I would most likely get yelled at by their mother or father.
Here, the adage that it takes a village to raise a child is extremely pertinent because children are literally raised by everyone. If they are misbehaving, they can be disciplined by any of the adults present, which creates extremely obedient children. While there are instances where they act-out like young children do, the temper tantrums we experience in the U.S. simply do not happen. Many of the photos I have taken during my last two trips often depict children sitting quietly and it is not a fluke. Honestly, it’s an amazing and somewhat foreign thing to behold!
With this, while the children here are disciplined and expected to learn strong work ethics at an early age, Mozambicans clearly cherish their youth. The well ceremony we attended was once again in front of a school; however, unlike the educational facility we visited yesterday, the school building here had reed walls, a straw roof, and dirt floors. Nothing about the structure resembled what we would think of as a conventional school, but one of the local men pointed out that they’ve used all native materials because it is all they have. One day, this elder spoke about his certainty that their prayers would be answered for cinderblock walls that won’t collapse when there’s wind, even if it takes 100 years for those blessings to come to fruition. In poetic terms, one of the school teachers stated that, “If every one of our students represents a plant, we are so thankful for this well because we are now able to water our plants.”
While this ceremony was very similar to the others we’ve seen thus far, it was by far our favorite because their graciousness was incredibly evident. As a community, they appeared to have an extremely strong foundation and they planned a wonderful celebration, complete with an entire presentation from the village children. Their smiles and songs were incredibly touching and it was clear that they were the pride and joy of the entire community.
After their initial welcome was given and we were asked to plant two trees for the well dedication, we were taken further into the bush to the new drilling sight where water had only been found that morning. When I speak of the bush, the writer in me has to wonder whether I’m actually painting a picture of what it really means to be that far off the main road.
For starters, paved roads in this part of the world are few and far between; therefore, anything that has not been funded by the government is made of nothing but sand or orange clay. For this reason, it’s not surprising that most of the vehicles you see on the road have 4-wheel drive because getting to some of the villages requires you to deal with deep sand paths through the jungle that would barely fit a bicycle, let alone an SUV.
These “roads” and their extreme distance from anything resembling civilization, serves as a reminder of why clean water is so important to the villagers here; however, it seems only natural to wonder why they wouldn’t simply move to an area that is closer to the things they so desperately need, such as hospitals and schools. Still, while it appears to be a small issue to move their straw houses and reed chicken pens to different areas, it’s important that we remember the things that make us similar to them.
For starters, many, many people in the U.S. seem to live off the grid in rural parts of the country; however, while it might seem odd and restrictive to those of us used to having everything we need a only a short drive away, they live there because they prefer to be a good distance from the bustle of the cities. Life in Mozambique is not really much different. Many of the villagers who live in the bush prefer the simple way of life there, even if change is slow to come to their area, especially when their land has been passed down through their family for years. According to Dulah, one of our translators, his father worked the land and could smell different plants before he got near them because he was so in tune with his environment. When I asked what exactly he meant, he said that, for example, “if he was standing in the bush and was hoping to find tomatoes, he could simply use his nose to pinpoint where they were hiding. That’s how many villagers find food in the wild or are even able to tell what the weather will be. They are in line with nature in a way that people from the cities do not understand. They can sense it all around them.”
Still, life is hard living off the beaten path, but it was uplifting to see how much this village has been able to accomplish on their own. They have not waited for others to come and build them a school so they can teach—they have created their own school and accepted that one day they will have the funds and materials to build something better. Their faith in this is something to behold because it seems to be something so many of us lack. As one woman put it, “God is the one who gives me courage every day.” She said that she understood that belief takes time, but that they have hope just the same because prayers aren’t always answered overnight.
Perhaps we could all use a little more of their wisdom.
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