Mozambique

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photograph by Susan Layzell

Padre Eugenio Mepo the priest in charge of our link church and Dinos Kousoulou, of St Andrew's, with the laptop computer we have donated to the Church.

some basic facts

The Country is located in the south east of Africa with a coastline along the Indian Ocean. It lies between South Africa in the South and Tanzania in the north. The countries that border it on the west are Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The official language is Portuguese although only about 25% of the population speak Portuguese. There are about 13 local native languages that are spoken across the Country.
The population of Mozambique is approx 18 million.
It is approximately 6 times the size of Great Britain.
Life expectancy is 45 years. In the UK it is 79.
18% of children die before they are 5 years old. The rate in the UK is 0.6%.
Approximately 80% of children attend primary school, although class sizes are large and classes of over 70 are common. Children attend school on a shift system with a.m. and p.m. rota.
Average annual income is approx £140.
There is a strong Anglican and Roman Catholic presence in Mozambique. There is also a strong Muslim following in the Country.
However the county is slowly prospering and health, education and employment opportunities are improving.

The Country is divided into two Dioceses. The Diocese of Lebombo (Bishop Dinis Sengulane), which lies south of the Zambezi River and the Diocese of Niassa (Bishop Mark Van Koevering), which lies north of the Zambezi.

St Andrew’s,with Holy Trinity , supports the Diocese of Niassa through the Anglican, London and Mozambique Association (ALMA).

St Andrew’s has established a link with a Church in the town of Morrumbala, which is in the District of Zambazia in the south of the Diocese. Padre Eugenio Mepo is the priest in charge of the area around Quelimane, the provincial capital but his responsibilities stretch out from Quelimane to Morrumbala some 80 miles away.

In the Diocese of Niassa the majority of Anglicans are to be found in the area around Lake Malawi and in the Niassa province.

With regard to church growth, the Archdeaconry of Zambezia is the fastest growing. In the district of Morrumbala, 35 new congregations have been established in the last 2 years. These are small congregations in the main as the area is sparsely populated. However our link church, which still has no official name, is based in Morrumbala Town and at the church services that I attended on the 23rd September there were at least 80 people. The Church Building is a very basic bamboo and thatch construction but they do have ample land to build a new church on the current site.