“Since I arrived here at the CRPE Orphan Centre and I met the children, they started calling me “Sister Mari”. As time passed, I started feeling even more close to them. The first months were not easy, the normal adaptation of a local volunteer in the field did not happen for us. From the first minute we had to deal with basic needs, take care of human lives and make everything possible to support the whole community.
“Sister” Mariana
In these moments we are overwhelmed by a strength coming out of nowhere and we are ready to help. The few moments we thought about leaving was when we feared for our own lives and watched our meagre resources ending. Besides this we did not felt it would be fair to have the chance to abandon a situation like this when no one else had that option. The children, the main focus of my mission, are now part of my daily life, like everyone else in this country; they have wonderful smiles and an impressive power of acceptance and life force.
I feel at home.”
Mariana travelled as a volunteer with our sister-charity, UPG Portugal to Chinhacanine near Chokwe, Mozambique, days before the violent January floods that destroyed much of the Chokwe and Xai-Xai areas. Chibuto, a remote area around Chinhacanine, is the the target location for ALG’s next water well in Mozambique.
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