Wednesday, March 30, 2016

New latrine in Banhine

Now, 13 families of our UPG Portugal Sponsored children have a new latrine!
Thanks to the Cascais City Council’s generous donation in 2013 (13’760£), between 2015 and 2016, UPG Portugal applied over 3’000£ in this micro Basic Sanitation Programme, benefiting a total of 38 families in the Banhine, Nhancutse and Bungane communities.

What is a latrine?
A latrine is a basic sanitation infrastructure which several poor families, mainly in rural areas, do not have or if they do it is usually in very bad conditions. When there are no latrines the contamination of the water and ground facilitate the propagation of diseases, affecting mostly children. The children usually play in the streets and are exposed to poor hygiene environments which severely affect their health, even causing their death.
Did you know …
In rural areas the population have four times less probability of using improved sanitation infrastructures?
39% of Mozambican population does not have a latrine?
A new latrine lasts almost 10 years and in average cost 50£?

Every child have the right to a dignified living household and to grow up in a healthy environment. Little gestures like this make all the difference in our children’s lives!

Friday, March 18, 2016

We study better with a full belly!

This year in the SVP After School Support Classes we have very special news: the usual snack (bread with jam and juice) became a more nutritious and substantial meal. The great draught in the Chokwé region brought hunger and more financial strains for the families. The family farming plots have not been producing, the land is very dry and the prices of food are very high.
In the beginning of the School year, Sister Alice (ALG Partner in SVP) raised our attention towards this situation: “The South and Central areas of Mozambique are struggling with serious drought, we haven’t had rain to favour agriculture production since 2014. Today hunger is an undeniable reality. In October we expected rain since it is the time to begging sowing. But there was no rain and now we have famine. I’m quite concerned because if this continues I fear that children start missing classes, and even the after school support classes, to look for means of subsistence: selling plastics, credit and opting for other small scale commercial solutions to obtain some food. I believe the option of strengthening the snack is more viable since it would represent a strong incentive to keep children in school and secure their success in studies.”

To satiate our children’s hunger and ensure that they continue in school, ALG strengthened children’s nourishment in the After Class Support Classes. Thus, this project assumes an annual cost of 12£ per child, but we make sure that 174 children do not abandon school and continue their studies with a full stomach!”


Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Happy Birthday Gil!

Gil, our Uni Scholarship student, sent us a little testimonial. 


"I’m sending this email to say thank you for ALG’s help in making my dream come true. With or without work, now my dream came true and, with the Grace of Our Lord, I’m sure I will be able to achieve a job or a specialization of some sort.
I’m proud to give my testimony regarding the huge intellectual, social and academic help ALG has provided me.
I’m lost for words to describe my satisfaction and the great luck of being worthy of your trust. All I can do is to say khanimambo to ALG, khanimambo to Cascais, khanimambo to all the aunties, khanimambo to the Sisters, and khanimambo to everyone who, directly or indirectly, helped me to get to where I’m today."



Friday, March 4, 2016

Our new school Canteen!

The school year has already started in Mozambique, and do you know what that means? That the ALG School Feeding Programme in SLM is also on! 
This year we hope to finish the construction of the new school canteen, and allow the 800 children in the SLM School to finally eat lunch in a clean and decent place away from dust and protected from wind and rain. 
Help us fulfill this dream!

Donate here



Tuesday, March 1, 2016

EFI - The big differences

ALG met EFI and "Grandma" Etelvina in 2009 that, since 2003, met the younger children of Marien Ngouabi village in Xai Xai who roamed the streets and, under a tree taught them to speak Portuguese, counting numbers and singing. Many of these children were orphans or their parents could not afford to pay a Pre-School.
Immediately, UPG Portugal began to finance for food and education of children who gathered under a tree and on rainy days had no school.
In 2010, with the help of a private benefactor in Portugal and a land donated by Xai-Xai Hall, UPG financed the construction of new facilities for “Escolinha Flôr da Infância”, equipped with three classrooms, an indoor storage room and an office, an indoor bathroom and a latrine.
The Escolinha Flôr da Infância (EFI) is a pre-school now supported entirely by ALG and the multi-year funding allows this school to provide free education to these children, who would otherwise have no means to attend the garden for children.

Since 2009 UPG and since 2011 ALG has contributed and assisted the growth and improvement of the conditions of this pr-school, with an investment of more than £40.500 that provides to our little ones: breakfast, lunch, teachers, feeds and uniforms. Can you find the differences?