Meet the team

The core team during visioning for the organization and ICT training

Director Enosse Michangula

Boaventura

Epifanea

Writers, journalists, editors, poets, and translators

Sometimes paradise comes under the most unexpected guises. For example, a workshop with a panel of American writers, poets, journalists, editors, and translators.

Invited by the Cultural Center of the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, a group of five writers from the University of Iowa presented a series of workshops talking about what they do, why they do it, how they do it.

The audience, mostly young journalist students from Mozambique, were hungry for information and seemed eager to know more about the craft, the process, the career, the challenges. The writers were fun, honest, approachable and down to earth. Not to mention engaging and interesting. The flow of the conversation, though carried in two languages, was kept at a good pace by a very skilled interpreter and some of the participants who were bilingual. What else
can one ask?

Mozambican poets and writers also had the chance to present their work. The following day, there was more time for discussions during the presentation at the Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos (Mozambican Writers Association). I felt fortunate to be able to fully understand the nuances of both languages and had a great time observing the coming together of these very different cultures.

You can play 'Where is Waldo' and try to find me in this photo.

Plus, in a weird way, I felt at home. It was only during these presentations that I realized how much had I been missing my readings, my writing groups, my “real” work, books, meetings with colleagues, my libraries (Oh, VPL, if you only knew how much you mean to me!). Next obvious step, was to raid the bookcases of my friends here. Picky-ness out of the window due to lack of choice, I've been reading some *interesting* stuff.


But at least I won’t read-starve.

Full immersion: Workshop on participatory tools for poverty relief

The workshop at the Red Cross Mozambique (Cruz Vermelha Moçambique) was to begin the process of bringing an Urban Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment tool to the Chamanculo* community. The 2-year long pilot project that will begin this year is the result of a team effort to create a program that would empower locals to strengthen their neighborhood by using existing resources in the community.

Exploring ways to apply a disaster prevention tool
for poverty reduction in an urban setting.

Recruited to translate from Portuguese to English.
With Program Support Specialist Seija Anttonen.

City representatives and representatives from the Red Cross.

Representative from local NGO,
Associação Cultural Bonga-Mbilo.

*Chamanculo is an area of Maputo to the north-west of the “cement city.”
*Photos by Elizabeth Kuttner