UMCOR in Mozambique: Recovering Land, Rebuilding Homes, Restoring LivesUMCOR in Mozambique: Recovering Land, Rebuilding Homes, Restoring LivesMozambique suffered a long civil war that ended in 1992. That conflict ruined the country's economy and littered its terrain with deadly landmines. As the end of the century approached, Mozambique was making great strides, but cyclones and catastrophic flooding struck in 2000 and 2003. The 2000 flood, which received significant global news coverage that touched many people's hearts, killed 500 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Much of the country's infrastructure was destroyed, undoing years of war recovery work. Then in 2002, the southern African food crisis enveloped Mozambique too.
The United Methodist Church (UMC) of Mozambique and the United States has work in all eleven provinces of Mozambique. With assistance from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and the General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodists have supported ongoing relief and recovery efforts from war, famine, and floods. Health issues, including HIV/AIDS, also have been an ongoing concern. Chicuque Hospital in Inhambane receives signifcant United Methodist support.
One very important project is landmines removal. A $1 million fund established by the General Board of Global Ministries, combined with generous United Methodist donations to the UMCOR's Landmine Removal Program, has helped to make Mozambique a safer place to live, work, and go to school. Since the implementation of removal activity in early 2003, over 3 million square meters of land in Mozambique have been cleared of deadly landmines. Thousands of children are able to play without fear of injury or death from an explosion.
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