Day 6: "We see the world more clearly now!"

By the end of May, Macia held its annual Health Fair! Macia village is located at 60km south of Xai-Xai, Chongoene and 50kms west of Chokwé.

On the ground, ALG found out that the Nhancutse Programme had two sisters almost blind - Laura and Cacilda. After establishing a few contacts, we arrived at Clínica dos Olhos (Eye Clinic) in Xai-Xai, through one of our providers – PITAMBAR Stores. The owner is an active member of the Local Hindu Youth Community.

Fortunately, it was a lachrymal sac issue, and after obtaining a diagnostic and adequate treatment the problem was easily resolved!

The Cossa twins from the Bungane programme, who suffer from strabismus (despite not being operable), are similarly monitored by the Xai-Xai eye clinic, also attended the Health Fair.

The Hindu Community regularly invites a team of Cuban doctors with several areas of expertise, including ophthalmology, to visit Mozambique!

At this Health Fair they performed eyesight screenings and we took a few children to be checked by the doctors. Everybody was happy!

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Day 5. A magnificent Documentary – Tales of Resilience

In 2016, volunteers Niko and Mattias (Chroma Pictures) visited Mozambique with ALG to shoot a very special documentary. The aim was to record ALG’s work on the ground, focusing on the lives of children growing up with our support like Racilia, Arone, and buddies Lenço and Ernesto.

Tales of Resilience, the magnificent documentary depicting our children’s tales of resilience and courage, was premiered in March, in special event hosted in London: ALG’s Gala. In 2017 we celebrated 6 years of existence in UK, and we gathered 220 guests at the Portuguese Embassy to celebrate with us. Besides feeling proud of this documentary, we were ecstatic with the £77 thousand pounds raised to invest in our project in Mozambique.

 

With these funds ALG secures the equivalent to almost 12 months of ground operations in the Projects’ area.

 

This documentary will keep the stories of 4 special children who, with your help, fight every day to achieve a better life, forever in our hearts.

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Day 4: An amazing EFI Scholarship holder

Remember our dear Anita Jorge Zitha, a stellar student from EFI pre-school? During the past years she has been awarded a merit scholarship through our Flowers’ Scholarship Programme.

Anita’s life has not been easy. In the past year her mum and grandmother, with whom she lived, passed away. Then she was living with an aunt who, unfortunately, also passed away! It seemed almost too unbearable to believe…With only seven years old Anita is now living with her grandmother’s husband. This very determined and brave little girl didn’t not give up studying but, with such turmoil in her life, her school results were affected. Grandma Etelvina, EFI’s founder and ALG Local Partner in this project, started tutoring Anita at EFI after-school. The effort paid off and Anita just received her Portuguese test results - 15! Congratulations Anita, you are a brave and strong girl!!

The Flowers’ Scholarships are a merit programme launched in 2011. ALG and Ribacapital joined forces to reward best students, from 4 to 5 years of age, at Escolinha Flor da Infância. Every year we select 8 children with outstanding results and school performance throughout the year.

The 4-year-old students receive an award (42£) converted in a Basic Basket and School Material.

The 5-year-old students receive a multiannual scholarship (430£), split in annual instalments of 81£) until completing their primary education. This amount includes a Basic Basket and setting up a savings bank account jointly with their guardian, accessible only when the child is 18 years old. Our goal is to award merit and dedication from a young age!

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Day 3: Meet ALG’s new Local Partner in the communities!

Rural communities are an extensive ALG programme implemented in the underprivileged areas of Chongoene, Nhancutse, Banhine and Bungane. It involves c.300 children sponsored by UPG Portugal. The Project’s area includes building huts, a pre-school, scholarship holders, water wells, etc.

ALG policy on the ground has always been based in being close to our beneficiaries through Local Partners – respected community members who describe us, on a daily basis, the difficulties and successes of our programmes. These Partners are also the ones who guarantee the budget implementation and who account for every expenditure, made with the help of your donations, in a transparent way.

 Since April, ALG set up a partnership with diocesan priests: Father Alex and Father Elpídeo. Father Alex is continuing Vincentian Father Amine’s hard work, before being transferred to another region in Mozambique. Father Elpídio is supervising our programmes in the area and, under his supervision, this year EFI pre-school flourished with an excellent supervisor - Cremilde, new toilets and happier children.

 ALG continues to invest in narrowing relationships with Local Partners - local communities’ active members mainly but not exclusively, from religious orders. Our daily work with Local Partners enables us to consolidate our policy aimed at investing and controlling, in an efficient and timely way, the funds from Portugal and UK. We aim to break the poverty cycle in Xai-Xai, Chokwé and Chongoene in a transparent way, with a close relationship and visible impact for the donors.

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Day 2: This Xmas, fill your stocking with an ALG project!

Want a different present for your family and friends, but don’t know what? ALG gives you a hand …how about supporting a project in their name? We give you 3 options to for your donation:

• The School Feeding Programme, for just 3£ per month each child has a daily meal at the SLM Santa Luísa de Marillac school – Total Project Cost £28,530 annually (for 900 children)
• Escolinha de Stª Catarina (ESC) pre-school, for 11£ per month each child has access to teachers, didactic materials and meals – Total Project Cost £8,180
• Technical Courses at SLM and SVP schools – in the first Phase 24 students enrolled in Electricity Course for a  Cost of £2,199

Such a great idea right?! For detailed information please contact us at: geral@umpequenogesto.org

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Day 1: Our SVP Pre-School is one-year old!

A year ago, ALG celebrated Christmas announcing the inauguration of another ALG pre-school – this time in our S. Vicente de Paulo project, in Chokwé.

 

Now, 12 months later, 30 extremely underprivileged children have free access to pre-school education, one daily meal and loads of care and attention from our cheerful teacher Florinda.

 

Volunteer Virgínia C. visited this school and taught our children, between 3 and 5 years old. In her own words....

 

“These were days filed with giving and receiving. I taught them to count to 5, and to write numbers 1 and 2, they taught me changana (local dialect). Similarly, to everything else in ALG … we give...and they fill our hearts with beautiful smiles”

 

Thank you to everyone who, throughout the year, helped us achieving this goal. Our special thanks go to the young Brazilian family A. who kindly sponsored the whole school in 2017!

 

Donate to ALG now!

 

A Little Gesture brings back your Xmas Calendar of Little Gestures!

Day 3: Meet ALG’s new Local Partner in the communities!

Rural communities are an extensive ALG programme implemented in the underprivileged areas of Chongoene, Nhancutse, Banhine and Bungane. It involves c.300 children sponsored by UPG Portugal. The Project’s area includes building huts, a pre-school, scholarship holders, water wells, etc.

ALG policy on the ground has always been based in being close to our beneficiaries through Local Partners – respected community members who describe us, on a daily basis, the difficulties and successes of our programmes. These Partners are also the ones who guarantee the budget implementation and who account for every expenditure, made with the help of your donations, in a transparent way.

 Since April, ALG set up a partnership with diocesan priests: Father Alex and Father Elpídeo. Father Alex is continuing Vincentian Father Amine’s hard work, before being transferred to another region in Mozambique. Father Elpídio is supervising our programmes in the area and, under his supervision, this year EFI pre-school flourished with an excellent supervisor - Cremilde, new toilets and happier children.

 ALG continues to invest in narrowing relationships with Local Partners - local communities’ active members mainly but not exclusively, from religious orders. Our daily work with Local Partners enables us to consolidate our policy aimed at investing and controlling, in an efficient and timely way, the funds from Portugal and UK. We aim to break the poverty cycle in Xai-Xai, Chokwé and Chongoene in a transparent way, with a close relationship and visible impact for the donors.

CC Annual Report and Accounts Submission YE2016

See all here

In 2016 we built 9 new houses!

In 2016 ALG had a strong impact in the improvement of living conditions for Mozambican children.

In S. Vicente de Paulo, we built new houses for 9 families and 2 new latrines. In Chongoene, Grandma Maria and Marcelino got a new house each. In Banhine 13 families now have new latrines. In total, currently, 26 ALG families have better living conditions in a more dignified, healthy and safe environment. Every child has the right to housing hence, in 2016, ALG invested more than £11.832 in its Infrastructure/Housing area. The construction of family housing enables the growth and development of our children in a happy and healthy environment. Help us to create new homes in in Mozambique