Trip to Mozambique

Maputo City

Normally we feel comfortable visiting people and places that are familiar to us. This makes us feel at home and easily interact with people in those places. However, there are times when we must visit places which are not very familiar with us. Such was my experience when duty called me to travel to Mozambique to attend a UNESCO Sub Regional Seminar. The Seminar had participants from Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Germany and USA. The Seminar was held in Maputo the capital city from 15th to 17th July 2009. Mozambique is a former colony of Portugal hence the official language is Portuguese. “Bem Vindo” in Portuguese means welcome in English. These are the words that greeted us at the International airport in Maputo where we landed at 20 00 after a 1 hour flight from Johannesburg. Earlier we travelled from Lusaka to Johannesburg in the morning for 2 hours and had an 8 hour stopover in Johannesburg. We spent time with my workmate and a friend in Johannesburg doing a bit of shopping.

Group Photo of Seminar Participants

When we landed in Maputo aboard the Mozambiquan National Airline we were met by the hosts that ensured all visitors completed formalities at the airport. We got to Hotel Cardoso where we had been booked. I checked in and retired to bed after having a snack. The Seminar commenced on 15th July. It was held at the Joachim Chissano International Conference Centre. The Conference Centre is a great beauty of architecture. Indeed Maputo has many beautiful buildings. The Seminar was held in both English and Portuguese. One recurring Portuguese phrase was “Muito Obrigado” which means “Thank you very much”. The Seminar presentations were excellent including the group discussions on Distance Education in the Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) sector. The meals were good both at the Conference Centre and at Hotel Cardoso and Hotel Hoyo Hoyo where some Malawians, a Namibian and I moved to for the last two nights. One of my friends states that Portuguese food is probably the best food in Africa. I’d not want to argue with that view for the food I tasted was superb. The fish is well cooked with good seasoning of spices.

Gabriel and Eric next to Indian Ocean

What can one say about Mozambique? This is a large country, one of Zambia’s eight neighbours. It has a very large coastline on the Indian ocean. Thus it is an ideal destination for holiday makers of International Conferences. One can enjoy the assorted sea foods and visiting the beach. One can also go back home with souvenirs of sea shells, Capulana (wrappers for women), Mozambiquan music etc. Mozambique became independent in 1975. It’s first leader, Samora Machel (who died in a plane crash in 1986) embraced Marxist ideology which in some ways led to a poor economy. The economy was further damaged by a civil war that lasted for years. However, in recent years Mozambique has been rebuilding it’s economy and has recorded positive economic growth. Indeed Mozambique is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. It has a lot of infrastructure development taking place in addition to the already beautiful buildings found in Maputo. Most residents live in tall flats found in the town centre. Maputo is a very big city probably ten times the size of Lusaka. The street names bear some Marxist names as evidence of the early love affair of Mozambique and Marxism. The people are generally friendly and are willing to help. In recent years, English language is been by some residents. This makes it easier for visitors that speak English to communicate. It is wise though for visitors to learn some basic Portuguese phrases as some locals only speak Portuguese.

Maputo at night

Mozambique like many other sub-Saharan African nations faces challenges of unemployment, pandemics such as HIV & AIDS, limited number of places in the education and vocational training fields. The Mozambiquan leadership has put in measures to address these challenges. Mozambique is a nation eager to move forward and put behind the years of civil war. Much has been done and much more is yet to be done. However, in all Mozambique to totally embrace the life changing power of the gospel to be transformed into a righteous nation. God bless Mozambique! God bless Africa!