Catholic Charity to Facilitate Construction of Houses for Displaced People in Mozambique

The DHPI volunteer told ACI Africa that the elderly people, families headed by women and those headed by children among the IDPs will be given priority in the housing project.

“We have identified the most vulnerable groups among the IDPs including elderly people aged above 60 as well as women left to head their families after their husbands were killed. This are groups that will occupy the houses first as we proceed with the project,” she said, and added, “Initially, we had included children-headed families but in Corrane, we don’t have such families just yet.”

In the May 7 interview with ACI Africa, the DHPI official said that displaced people are still coming from to the Corrane despite reports that residents of Cabo Delgado are experiencing an atmosphere of peace.

“Local media here report that the fighting in the North has stopped. But we can see people still coming to Nampula seeking refuge. Either there is still fighting in the North or people are just worried that more attacks could be on the way,” the DHPI official said.

DHPI Director Johan Viljoen informed ACI Africa that on the evening of 23 April, an attack believed by sources on the ground to have been perpetrated by insurgents resulted in at least five civilian deaths and seven homes burned in Palma’s Expansão neighborhood.

The Director of the SACBC initiative that assesses the evolution of conflicts in African countries told ACI Africa that a couple of days later, on 25 April, fighting again began in Palma.

“Civilians in the town reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions,” Mr. Viljoen said in his Tuesday, May 4 report to ACI Africa.

He added, “Many people who had been staying in the town fled, heading North towards Tanzania in hopes of being transported to the Negomano border post in Mueda district, from which they can travel to Mueda town or Pemba. Others joined the over 20,000 displaced people still stranded at Quitunda, from which there is little hope of evacuation in the near term.”

The DHPI official on the ground told ACI Africa that many displaced people coming to Nampula from Palma especially fear that attacks may spike up after Ramadan.

In a statement to ACI Africa, Mr. Viljoen reiterates messages by analysts of insurgency in Mozambique saying, “Following the model of attacks and occupation of Mocímboa da Praia (a town in Cabo Delgado), the insurgents are now trying to clear the population from Palma in advance of an attack expected soon after the end of Ramadan on May 12.”

According to the analysts’ report, everyone wants to flee, but the Mozambican government is not letting anyone leave.

“Effectively they are keeping up to 20,000 people hostage to try to forestall the next insurgent attack,” reads the report that Mr. Viljoen shared with ACI Africa, adding, “The people are now sick and hungry, as no international humanitarian aid is permitted.”

Further, reports indicate that roads out of Palma are closed and road traffic has been stopped in Palma itself, “which is largely a ghost town.”

Meanwhile, the DHPI official, said that progress has been made in recruiting officials of the office that will be in charge of various projects for IDPs in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nampula.

“One of my biggest roles in the Diocese of Pemba and the Archdiocese of Nampula, especially in Nampula, is to establish a strong Caritas office. When I came, there was only a Director and some volunteers. So far, we have made a huge step in building a strong Caritas team,” she tells ACI Africa.

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“We now have an accountant, a project manager, and we are in the process of hiring a junior project manager,” she further says, and adds, “We have ensured that we get the best on the team, those with prior experience in humanitarian projects.”

The team, the DHPI official says, will oversee the organization's projects including the housing project that is funded by the Hungary Help Agency.

DHPI is also facilitating a feeding program in partnership with other organizations, for the displaced people in Corrane. The SACBC peace institute is also running an agricultural project in Corrane where IDPs are given farm tools and fertilizers, seeds and the technical knowhow to engage in farming ventures.

Additionally, the organization is developing a psychosocial tool that will help the displaced people who have gone through suffering at the hands of the militants to manage their pain. Also in the pipeline is an educational program for children whose schooling has been halted owing to insurgency.