Tutela Feed May 2023

May 2023

Jonny and Becky’s daughter, Honor, 13, recalls her time living in southern Africa:

“One of my favourite things about living in Mozambique was probably the heat. It was usually sunny, and if it wasn’t, it was raining. Not feeble, inconsistent english rain, but hard, strong rain that stayed for a few days, often strongest at night. We had the rainy season and the warm season, but realistically, the temperature rarely dropped below 13 or 14ºC most of the year. Some of the best times were in the hot evenings when we would have a barbeque in the garden, all of us covered in bug spray to avoid mosquito bites. We would play outside, bare foot and in shorts and t-shirts to survive the heat. As the night got cooler we would layer up, but only in two layers and perhaps shoes. We would eat under the dark sky, sprinkled with shining stars that could still be seen despite the dense light pollution. 

Although much less populated than England, Mozambique had a lot of pollution, especially in terms of rubbish on the ground. It lined the pavements and littered sandy streets. This for me, although sad, was normal. There weren’t rubbish bins which you could just chuck your litter into, so if you didn’t want to carry it, it would end up on the ground. 

Mozambique is quite poverty-stricken and there is a feel of improvisation and ‘making do’. Other than the few expatriate houses and well off families with good housing, the majority of Maputo’s population (the city we lived in) are in rundown or simple huts and homes. There are small makeshift buildings made from slabs of bricks in sandy, poorer streets. The houses often have few rooms and a single bathroom. The breadwinners of those families often worked for expats as drivers, gardeners or what were called “empregadas” which is a portuguese word that translates to maid. They are mostly paid to clean the house and often look after the children when the parents aren’t around. I remember that we had four over the time we were there. We connected well with some of the people who worked for us and they became more like an auntie to me and my siblings. Our most recent empregada was especially close to us, her name is Mina and we got to know her very well. 

I treasure my time spent in Mozambique, and the memories I have from there and I really hope one day soon I can go back to visit or even live for a little while.”