The Floods in Milange - The Rains
This morning I stood in the remains of David’s* house and watched as the bricks that had collapsed to the floor turned to mud in front of my eyes. The rain continued to hammer down as we made a couple of trips to the car with all his worldly possessions. I watched as his wife packed up her clothes into a bag not much bigger than my handbag and as David reluctantly left the wooden door in the only standing wall, probably to be scavenged by someone else.
David's wife leaves their house through what used to be a wall
We drove the couple to a house behind ours which belongs to the church. It’s in need of lots of work but is often used for visitors as a place to put down their mat and sleep. We arrived to find another family from our church already taking refuge having fled their crumbling house. The two families agreed to share, knowing that by the end of the day there may well be a family in each of the 6 small rooms.
On our short journey we passed many piles of brick that used to house whole families. We saw people attaching plastic sheets to their roofs in one last attempt to save their hard earned property. Rivers have taken over where roads used to be, the attempts at drainage gullies no match for the force of the water rushing to find rivers and a way to the sea. Those who refused to let the water be channelled into their maize fields have given up and given in: the crops are drowned – now to do what’s best for everyone.
We drove the couple to a house behind ours which belongs to the church. It’s in need of lots of work but is often used for visitors as a place to put down their mat and sleep. We arrived to find another family from our church already taking refuge having fled their crumbling house. The two families agreed to share, knowing that by the end of the day there may well be a family in each of the 6 small rooms.
On our short journey we passed many piles of brick that used to house whole families. We saw people attaching plastic sheets to their roofs in one last attempt to save their hard earned property. Rivers have taken over where roads used to be, the attempts at drainage gullies no match for the force of the water rushing to find rivers and a way to the sea. Those who refused to let the water be channelled into their maize fields have given up and given in: the crops are drowned – now to do what’s best for everyone.
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The border between us and Malawi is
the river Melosa. It usually runs under the border posts about 5 metres below the road. Now it runs through the immigration building and over the bridge. There is no way to cross. The road east out of town towards the major cities is a mud bath. Stranded lorries block the way for other transport. There is no way out. |
The border post and the road to Malawi.
People are saying there have not been rains like this in 20 years. It’s not just the damage to property but the exhaustion of listening to the rain battering the metal roofs minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day for 9 continuous days (with just a few hours of relief on Sunday). It is continuous, relentless and unforgiving. With every extra gust of wind comes anxiety, with every lightening of the drops a glimmer of hope that there might be a pause. As yet that is not to be. There is no chance for the wet clothes, the soaked bricks and the damp documents to dry out, so they remain as is until the sun comes again.
This evening I found myself comforting a shocked and shaken Gina: her house also now in ruins. We stood amongst what was a beautiful and well-built house, now just a front wall, and I realised that this was serious. It was no longer just the mud brick, grass-roofed houses that were collapsing. We moved her, and 4 children to the spare house, now full but with a growing sense of community. I went home and cried.
People are saying there have not been rains like this in 20 years. It’s not just the damage to property but the exhaustion of listening to the rain battering the metal roofs minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day for 9 continuous days (with just a few hours of relief on Sunday). It is continuous, relentless and unforgiving. With every extra gust of wind comes anxiety, with every lightening of the drops a glimmer of hope that there might be a pause. As yet that is not to be. There is no chance for the wet clothes, the soaked bricks and the damp documents to dry out, so they remain as is until the sun comes again.
This evening I found myself comforting a shocked and shaken Gina: her house also now in ruins. We stood amongst what was a beautiful and well-built house, now just a front wall, and I realised that this was serious. It was no longer just the mud brick, grass-roofed houses that were collapsing. We moved her, and 4 children to the spare house, now full but with a growing sense of community. I went home and cried.
It is strange to think that we were praying for this rain to come. It’s amazing how quickly and how dramatically the seasons change here and the impact that has on the way we live day to day. We’re certainly not concerned about lack of water any more – a bucket placed outside our house collects enough water for a day or so in just a couple of hours.
Rest assured we’re safe, and here in Milange as far as we know there hasn’t yet been any loss of life. However, not far away communities are living near to major rivers with seriously life threatening flood potential. Please pray with us for protection and for perseverance as we all wait out this storm.
*names have been changed
Rest assured we’re safe, and here in Milange as far as we know there hasn’t yet been any loss of life. However, not far away communities are living near to major rivers with seriously life threatening flood potential. Please pray with us for protection and for perseverance as we all wait out this storm.
*names have been changed
St. Simon of Cyrene Milange, Mozambique
Population of Milange District: 500,000
Population of Milange town: 70,000
Number of Midwives per 1000 live births is 3
Lifetime risk of death for pregnant women: 1 in 37
UNICEF: 2011 Mozambique is amongst the worlds poorest countries (175 out of 179)
Population of Milange town: 70,000
Number of Midwives per 1000 live births is 3
Lifetime risk of death for pregnant women: 1 in 37
UNICEF: 2011 Mozambique is amongst the worlds poorest countries (175 out of 179)
January 2007: In Mozambique one million children still did not go to school: most of them from poor rural families and almost half of all teachers in Mozambique were still unqualified.
October 2001: Simon Sheldon and Sandy Swift make the first visit to Milange in Mozambique. Following this an agreement is made to link the parish of Milange in the Diocese of Niassa with Shepperton in the Diocese of London.
October 2001: Simon Sheldon and Sandy Swift make the first visit to Milange in Mozambique. Following this an agreement is made to link the parish of Milange in the Diocese of Niassa with Shepperton in the Diocese of London.
October 2004: Second visit to link parish. Chris and Sandy Swift spend six weeks in the Diocese on a teaching programme and see the consecration of the new church in Milange built with money raised by St. Nicholas Church.
September 2008: Our third visit to Milange. Three members of the congregation went with Chris and Sandy to be part of the opening of the new school we helped to finance in Milange. Sandy and Chris stayed on for the Mothers Union Conference and engaged in a teaching programme addressing the subject of domestic violence. They also led the Diocesan Clergy Retreat in Lichinga.
September 2008: Our third visit to Milange. Three members of the congregation went with Chris and Sandy to be part of the opening of the new school we helped to finance in Milange. Sandy and Chris stayed on for the Mothers Union Conference and engaged in a teaching programme addressing the subject of domestic violence. They also led the Diocesan Clergy Retreat in Lichinga.
September 2014: On 9th September a fourth, short, visit will be made to our linked parish by Chris and Sandy to look at the future of the school there and the possible expansion by way of another teaching block. What could we do to help facilitate that?
St. Nicholas has funded two visits from Milange to Shepperton. The first was two of the clergy. The second enabled members of the Mothers Union to meet with our Mothers Union and experience a little of life in Shepperton.
It is so important we continue to support our Christian brothers and sisters in Milange and strengthen the link between our two parishes.
The new Archdeacon and his family
St. Nicholas has funded two visits from Milange to Shepperton. The first was two of the clergy. The second enabled members of the Mothers Union to meet with our Mothers Union and experience a little of life in Shepperton.
It is so important we continue to support our Christian brothers and sisters in Milange and strengthen the link between our two parishes.
The new Archdeacon and his family
The school we helped to build
The school - partly funded by us and built next to the church
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School in the church
The gift of a chicken
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A village church
A typical bridge
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St. Joseph, Enghien les Bains
We have had a parochial link with St.Joseph for over 40 years. In normal times, their newsletter is displayed in the church. Here it is on the website.