The Prince, a parable to the Plan of Salvation

A prince lives in a beautiful palace with his loving Father and Mother. Although he is happy there, he cannot grow or develop because of his sheltered, inexperienced life. One day, his Father announces that before the prince can inherit and rule the kingdom, he must leave the palace and live among the townspeople as a commoner. During this time, he must also find a wife worthy to rule beside him as queen. 

At first, the Prince lived an honest and virtuous life, holding tightly to the knowledge of his royal heritage. But with time, the townspeople began to mock the boy, calling him a fraud and denying his identity. The prince began to doubt himself and eventually forgot about his life in the palace all together. Struggling with poverty, hunger, loneliness and despair, he became a liar and thief, stealing from his own kingdom. 

The King and Queen were devastated by their son's decisions and lack of integrity. How could he forget his mission and forsake his inheritance? With love, they sent messengers to remind the young boy of his true identity and purpose in the world. Upon remembering his past, the prince was filled with remorse and a rededication to live uprightly. He found a plain but kind and loving girl to marry and promised her that one day they would return together to the kingdom of his Father. Although their life was not easy, they supported each other and strived to be worthy of their future inheritance. 

One day, after years of both pain and joy, the weathered prince and his loving wife were invited back to the palace. The King and Queen welcomed them lovingly and congratulated them on the lessons they learned and characteristics they developed. From that day on, the prince and his princess became rulers of the kingdom, leading with wisdom, understanding and love for one another. 

Future of Africa

“The future of Africa is in the hands of the youth."

This statement is becoming ever more clear as I observe the diligent, dedicated youth that walk through the large rusted gates of the Young Africa campus. Eager to acquire the skills to sustain themselves and their families, they hurry over to the podium for morning announcements and prayer. Most of these students come from the Beira/Manga area but others travel from around the country to get their education at YA. As the group is dismissed and the microphone switched off, the students hustle to their designated classroom, shop, kitchen, or area for study, each with a different background, history and lifestyle but all striving to learn and make a change.

The Office

Ofece, one of the maintenance men that has been with YA Beira since its opening in 2007, pokes his head in the office door wearing his usual blue jumpsuit and with a big smile asks “Como esta a saude?” (how is your health) and “Como descansou?” (how did you sleep), just as he does every morning. We respond happily and with a chuckle Ofece says “Obrigado” and shuffles past the row of chairs to ring the bell, indicating the morning assembly is starting.

Papers pile up, our desk becomes cluttered and the room fills with people as we acquire tasks from our co-workers, Miguel, Rita and Zamila. Miguel asks Emma to re-design a YA flyer while Zamila and I create a data base for girls that have already left the hostel. Our day to day tasks vary greatly in the office. It seems as though we have done a bit of everything, but lately we have been focusing on correcting exams, submitting grades and posting results from finals. 

Working closely with Zamila, Emma and I use a lot of our time in the office to plan and organize activities for the girls. Zamila is the matron of the girls home and works with them as their YA mother. We’ve helped her with creating new empowerment projects and trying to improve old ones. Together we have prepared a presentation to market the hostel home to other orphanages. Twice a year they call the directors from orphanages around the area and present the vision and mission of the YA Hostel Home, soliciting the directors to bring their girls ages 15-18 to YA and take advantage of the environment and benefits that it offers. There are currently 20 girls living in the home, but the goal is to double that number in the coming semesters.

Two Weeks Left at YA

We are a little less than two weeks away from leaving YA Beira and starting our journey home. On the way we will be passing through the north of Mozambique to Tete, a small city that borders Zimbabwe and Malawi that I lived in while serving my mission in 2010. We will stay with an amazing family that always took really good care of us. We will then meet up with Emma's parents at the border of Malawi and will be touring through Malawi and Zambia eventually making it back to Lusaka to spend a couple weeks with them. We are excited about all that is coming up but obviously already making plans to get back to Mozambique as soon as we can. As I was reflecting a bit on our stay I came across something that I wrote when we were six weeks into our internship. I thought I would share it here.

May 27, 2014

-Emma and I have been in Mozambique for six weeks now. The things we are seeing, learning and experiencing daily are often strange and foreign but are fitting into our lives very well. Our eyes have been opened and we have been able to see our classroom learning being applied to real life experiences and opportunities. 

We love our little home. It is more than what we could have asked for, we have hot water in our shower, electricity, and two twin beds to sleep on that we have pushed together. Everything that we could have needed we have. Our bedroom is full of blue, our curtains, door, sheets, mosquito net, window frames. The curtains give it a special blue hue in the afternoon as the sun shines through that reminds me of the ocean…or a fish bowl. The pillow and folded blanket under my mattress help to keep the foam pad from sinking into the mismatched slats of the bed. Its our home, for now.

One of our main tasks is to work with the 21 teenage girls that live in the hostel next door. Our friendship and love for them has grown as quick as the covey in the garden outside our front door. They were quick to accept us and we are learning new things from our lively neighbors daily. The nightly activities we do has created a space for us to understand their needs, dreams, desires, and difficulties. 

For me coming back was strange because it felt so familiar. The smells resonated of a time of great change and growth in my own life. The green scenery constantly surrounding us reminded me of the natural beauty that Mozambique holds in her culture and landscape. The people reminded me of why the always present and persistent desire to come back only grew stronger with time. Mozambique and its people had truly been holding a piece of me. But I feel complete and at peace now as I grasp Emma’s hand as we walk upon the beaten ground through the small market near our home. Sharing this experience with her has changed me, has changed us. 

Pen Pals to America

Everyone wants to learn and speak English. Here they yell to us “good morning teacher” as we walk by or “I am fine, thank you.” Emma and I wanted to help the girls at YA learn English in a new fun way. Emma had the idea that we could contact some of our family and friends in the US and the girls could write pen pal letters to these people. Emma worked really hard finding the people willing to write, getting their information and matching them to with the girls in the hostel. She created a “cheat sheet” of English/Portuguese words and phrases that had potential conversation starters and useful words. 

Each Sunday night, the only night that all the girls are at home at once, we would gather everyone together. The girls sat around the wooden tables anxiously waiting to receive the letter from their ‘amigo.’ Emma would call each one by name and hand them their card. Grabbing it quickly they would scan it for words that they recognized or knew and then for the rest would rush over to Emma or me. We would work through the letters with each girl picking apart the lines they did not understand and create a new list of verbs and phrases the girls could learn from and study. They would finish and excitedly give their hand-written letter to Emma. Being satisfied for having written another letter in English and excited to see how their friend would respond . Emma would then take a picture of the letter and send it by email to their pen pal in America.

It was an amazing experience although it may have seemed small and insignificant, each person that corresponded with the girls helped to broaden their vision (vision of life outside of Mozambique, vision of a life outside of poverty, vision of a global community, vision of the importance and usefulness of learning English, etc.) During the last batch of letters, the girls wrote in their Facebook names and emails so that they can continue to have correspondence with their new friends in America. 

SOS +YA

A little clip from our morning at SOS Orphanage with the YA girls.

SOS Villages Visit

I honked the horn as we pulled around the side of the girls’ home on Saturday morning. One by one, they came running down the cement stairs and piled into the back of the white pickup truck. We headed towards the front gate but stopped suddenly as Lizete sprinted from a classroom, yelling that she had finished her test early and could now come with us. Excitedly she threw her books and bag in the back and climbed in. We waved to the guard Carlito and turned onto the highway towards SOS Chrildrens Orphanage. 

We pulled up to SOS and saw a group of kids running to the metal gate to let us pass through. The girls were welcomed with little hugs and high fives as they jumped from the truck bed. One of our oldest girls Victoria, who recently signed a contract to work at a nursery in Beira, started to organize the activities with the others. Emma and I watched and let the YA girls lead out so they could feel the responsibility of caring for their younger brothers and sisters there at the orphanage. Eufrasia picked up a crying baby from the sand and Cecilia grabbed the little hand of the boy next to her and started to sing and dance. 

We spent the next two hours together with more than sixty orphaned children, singing, dancing and playing games. For the last activity, the girls divided the kids into smaller groups and talked with them about their favorite things, dreams, the importance of education and much more. 

This activity has been one of my favorite things we have done here so far. Seeing the girls interact with the children with such love and care was so rewarding. Everyone left with big smiles and full hearts. It was incredible to see the girls from YA, many of which have been orphans most their lives, step up into leadership roles during this activity. Providing service is a such a powerful tool for growth. We were so happy to see the girls look outside of themselves while preparing for and during the activity. We hope through this continuing mentorship project they will develop leadership skills vital to their families, communities and country.

Finals

Final exams for the first semester were completed last week. 

Emma was given the task to monitor the exam in one of the classrooms. 

Lots of work now to input grades and post results. 

AID

Young Africa is partially funded by the support of The European Union. They have also partnered with IrishAid, Serve IE, and other individual donors. These organizations want to see how their money is being spent and if Young Africa should continue to receive their aid. They require constant reports and Young Africa receives visits from each organization 1-4 times each year. 

One of our responsibilities is to help portray the vision, mission and results of Young Africa through writing, pictures and film. We have worked closely with the YA staff to portray properly what is happening here. We had a chance to accompany and translate for a few of the visitors. To talk with representatives from these organizations has been a great learning experience. We are understanding what donors want to see before they donate money and what they want done with their money once it has been awarded to an NGO. We are hanging onto these ideas and suggestions for later years as we aspire to work closely with Young Africa and other NGO’s and possibly start something of our own. 

Here are a couple videos that Emma and I have worked on that are being used to show more about the YA hostel home. The first is showing what a normal day at the girls home looks like. The second video is of Faraminha, who has already left the home and is having great success thanks to her determination and the things she learned at Young Africa. 

The girls

One of our primary responsibilities at Young Africa is to work with 25 orphaned teenage girls living in the group home on campus. Each week, Emma and I plan activities and lessons to help the girls understand their potential and develop important skills that lead them towards emotional and financial independence. 

 Some of the activities include; vision boards, “self esteem building blocks”, english class, goals setting lessons, thinking games, soccer training and much more. Something that we noted as we were talking with the girls was that almost all of them want to help others like they have been helped. We wanted to show them that they can help now. They do not have to wait until they are rich or older to help those around them. We contacted the orphanage SOS Villages which is situated up the road from Young Africa. Emma and I visited their orphanage and plans were made for our girls to visit the children on Saturdays. During these visits the YA girls work with the other children building relationships and mentoring the younger children. It is a great opportunity for our girls to develop a  pattern of service and to be examples to the younger children.

The girls at Young Africa have all the resources they need to be successful and happy. They are what is going to change this country and the world. We are encouraging them to seek after and take advantage of this time they have to learn. These girls have the opportunity to be economically independent and emotionally secure throughout their lives if they work for it now. They will help to establish peace and security in a country stained with years of war and instability, changing their lives and the lives of others generations to come.

Bem Vindo

We exited the plane in Beira to the sound of young people singing loudly in their native dialect. Lined up in the airport entrance clapping and dancing, they welcomed us to their city — our home for the next three months. Emma and I exchanged excited looks and passed under the large “BEM VINDO” sign.

The warm welcome continued as we made our way to the Young Africa campus in Manga. We met the staff at YA and quickly became acquainted with the campus and our responsibilities for the next few months. “You arrived just in time,” they all said as they hustled around the desk to shake our hand, “The sports festival is this weekend!” 

Our first week was quick and ended with overtime hours printing off schedules and organizing the prizes for the annual Young Africa Sports Festival and because we live on campus, they gave us the keys to the office, “Just in case we’re a bit late tomorrow morning.” As the fields began to fill with players and spectators Saturday morning we were the only staff around so we began signing teams up and directed a captains meeting preparing for the days events. 

Basketball, volleyball, and soccer games were played all at once. Spectators lined the side of the field marking the boundaries well. Emma and I walked around watching games and keeping track of scores and brackets. Around noon the women in the kitchen came and told us to announce that lunch would be ready in fifteen minutes. They had been in the kitchen since sunrise preparing to feed 500 plus participants and staff. 

While lunch was served the clouds became heavy over the fields and soon we began to hear the sound of rain drops hitting the tin roof all around us. for a moment we wondered what would become of the festival, but the rain did not stop the players, it seemed to energize them and give them an increased sense of courage as they faced their opponents, now wet head to toe with mud covering their bare feet.

The ref gave three whistles to signal the end of the final game and the crowds began to make their way to the podium for the closing ceremony. They began to announce the winning teams amidst the singing, shouting and dancing of players and spectators alike. As their name was called each recipient came to the stage to be presented with their trophy and acknowledgment from the crowd that today…he was the best. 

Young Africa

I first became acquainted with Young Africa while serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mozambique. Living in Beira — the second largest city in the country, I met an Irish man named Joe who volunteered as plumber for the organization. One day, he invited us to tour the campus, a modest but well-kept collection of classrooms, administration buildings, volunteer accommodations, a small nursery, and restaurant. I was extremely impressed by both the grounds and mission of Young Africa — to equip underprivileged youth with technical skills and knowledge in order to promote sustainability and reverse the cycle of poverty that plagues Mozambique. 

Three years later as Emma and I were researching summer internship opportunities, I remembered Young Africa and my positive impressions of the program. We exchanged several successful emails with the in-country director, interviewed via Skype, and eventually secured positions as full-time interns. Anxious to show Emma the place that had such a lasting influence on my life, we prepared to leave our comfortable island home in April.