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Mozambique: Everybody's Children

by Lieut-Colonel Dan Starrett

On a visit to Maputo, in Mozambique, I walked through a rural village that had some new homes alongside many older style African homes. Two hundred of these new homes were funded and built by The Salvation Army. In contrast to other families who had been moved by the Government to sandy, desolate areas far from town, people living in the Salvation Army homes were located close to town, and the ground around them was supporting small crops. The owners of these homes are proud of what they now have, and very grateful for the opportunity they’ve been given.

I walked past one home and noticed a young boy crawling around in a fenced-in area. This child was obviously severely disabled, and I asked one of my colleagues why he was not in school. I was told that there is a significant problem with physically handicapped children or mentally challenged children born into this culture. They are often locked in back rooms and treated as though they have no value.

Are these children different from others, I wondered. This young boy may have a deformed foot, or some other type of deformity, but it does not mean that he has no value or that he does not have the ability to learn. The challenge of Jesus to love all his children applies here and everywhere in God’s world.

The sight of that boy made me think. What do the children that I saw in Mozambique want that every child in the world wants? What do their eyes look for that other children see? Do these children want to just stand around all day and kick the dirt or struggle to eat? Do they want to hear the message of Jesus?

Of course, all over the worldchildren are the same. They want to learn, play somewhere safe and be able to eat every day. They want to learn at school and they want to listen to the stories of Jesus. Yet there are millions of children who do not have these benefits that many of us take for granted every day.

The Salvation Army in Mozambique is doing something every single day to help meet these and many other needs for children. Salvation Army services include, but are not limited to, visits by community volunteer teams to homes where children may be at risk or living in abusive situations, local medical clinics and feeding programmes. The Army is caring for children every day.

These children are no different from the sons, daughters, nieces, nephews or grandchildren of most of All the World’s readers – except that they are in a very different and challenging part of the world. Their parents want the same for their children as any parent would. The money given by Salvationists and friends around the world helps make this a possibility.

As our team stood by a big, torn and tattered tent, the community members told us that a new corps (Salvation Army church) building was going to be built to replace the tent during the next few months. There was a look of hope and excitement on their faces as they anticipated worshipping in their new corps building.

When I paused to take pictures, the children were laughing and pushing to get close to the camera, hoping to be a part of the photograph. As I listened to their laughter I closed my eyes and imagined what these children can and will become in the future because of the help given by The Salvation Army.

We will never know what the Army’s seemingly basic service and ‘cup of cold water’ given in Jesus’ name will mean in the lives of these children today and in the Kingdom of God for eternity.

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