When I originally wrote this question we thought it was a pretty straightforward question and answer but with a bit of research (both through locally asking the Mozambicans in the area we’re currently living their opinion on the topic and also looking at research various organizations have done nationally [UNICEF, WHO, World Vision, etc]) we realized this was a bit of a complicated Tuesday Trivia question. In an effort to apologize for this, this week’s Tuesday Trivia is a very fun and simple one (we promise you’ll like it). On to last week’s question concerning cell phones, water, electricity, and a 12 grade education…
Here are some highlights you may find interesting:
1. Cell phones – cell phones are by far the easiest, cheapest, and most accessible to all that live in Mozambique. If you didn’t realize this, cell phones have come to the developing world in a HUGE way – there are very few parts of the world that are untouched by this phenomenon. Just think, in Mozambique there are only 80,000 telephone lines in use for a population of 20 million – that means until cell phones “hit the market” less than .004% of the population had access to telecommunications. In the past five years, cellular phone use has gone up 436% – and now 1 in 3 individuals have a cell phone with cellular service (while this still may not seem that large realize that one half of the population is under 18 years old [in other words many of those without cell phones are babies or toddlers]). Cell phones can be purchased cheap – I can buy a nicer phone than I ever had in the States for around $10 USD and cell service is pre-paid so even for 30 cents you can make plenty of calls within the country. As one Mozambican I asked put it when I talked about the list, “Cell phones are our largest felt need on that whole list – to be able to communicate means everything to us.” Strange that if you asked a typical Mozambican which they really feel they “need” most on this list – most would put “cell phone” first. One final curiosity – even in areas without electricity people have cell phones and service – they simply go to the nearest place with electricity that usually charges a nominal fee to plug into a power strip and power up their phone. Also if you were wondering we personally also get our internet through our cell phone but currently only around 620,000 of the total population are internet users.
Here’s where the list gets dicey and you’ll see why:
Electricity – the majority of the country lives without electricity and even when you have access to power lines it can be extremely difficult to get. One Wesleyan church planter/pastor who lives near us has been trying for months and filling out all kinds of paperwork and forms and still is unable to get electricity to his home. When you do have electricity wired to your home – it, like most things in Mozambique – is pre-paid. So unless you pay, you can’t get it and when your funds run out, your electricity automatically turns out. Tough even for us to get used to – if you’re not careful your electricity shuts down in the middle of trying to cook a meal. For those electrical engineers and smart people out there, here’s something unique – for every 1 kilowatt of electricity that Mozambique uses, the USA uses well over 400 (the USA is the largest consumer of electricity in the world).
Water – now we’re in super-dicey territory as I didn’t really mention whether I meant access to any water source, access to a clean water source, or water actually running in one’s home. I’ll try to be quick – water running inside one’s home is pretty much reserved for the ex-pats (missionaries, business people, aid workers, etc) and the very wealthy in the population. The rest of the population (even those in the upper middle and upper class) draw water from a well/bore hole or some other natural source. Many of the bore holes and natural sources give access to unclean/unsafe drinking water. UNICEF states that 55 children die DAILY in Mozambique due to unsafe drinking water that causes illnesses/diarrhea and goes on to say that only 26 percent of the entire Mozambican population have access to clean water (however we’ve heard from other sources the current percentage that have access to clean water is somewhere around 40%). But few that have access to clean water have less than a 15 minute walk to get it – with 25 percent of the population having to walk over 60 minutes (one way) to get to the nearest fresh water source. Even with wells being drilled all the time, sometimes their upkeep is not done effectively and so a perfectly good bore hole has a broken pump and so is useless to the locals (this is the case near where we live where there are 3 wells for the different villages surrounding Praia de Xai Xai but only 1 is currently working).
12th grade education – also a difficult answer. Any of the population over 30 had their schooling interrupted by the intense civil war that ravaged Mozambique [leaving 1 million dead and another 5 million displaced]. The current generation has much more access to schooling but it is still extremely difficult to get to the 12th grade. Even in primary school only about 50% that start grade 1 make it out of the primary grades (grade 5). Primary school (through age 12) is “free” – but certain fees still apply (uniform, matriculation, etc) and so many impoverished families with multiple children cannot afford to send all their children to school (plus the household work [for instance walking over an hour to fetch water] means children don’t have time to go to school). Only about 7 percent make it to secondary education. However, people in Mozambique truly value education (and this is a contrast to other places we’ve been) and many adults (aged 30 although up to 50+) are still pursuing their schooling. We know of one pastor around 40 years old who goes every evening to school and he’s currently in the 10th grade and wants one day to go through 12th. An interesting sidebar to all the primary school educators out there how’s this for a ratio of teacher-to-student – in Mozambique the ratio is 1:62 (our family prays often for the teachers at Francis Slocum in Marion b/c we know that many days it may feel like that is the ratio [we hope the true ratio isn’t near that] – may God mightily bless you as you continue to holistically teach those in the Francis Slocum neighborhood!).
So needless to say, this answer was difficult to say the least; to make it simple, if you put cell phone as the easiest to get, you got the question correct no matter what order you put the other items in. Before you start feeling bad/discouraged/etc about this post, remember that God is at work and He is transforming people, families, communities, and this whole nation – the Kingdom is breaking in and things are improving in leaps and bounds. Agencies like World Vision, Samaritans Purse, and our very own World Hope are making a huge difference in reaching out holistically to the population. Continue to pray that God will continue to use us and others to make an all-encompassing impact – not only for eternity, but also for the here-and-now! And remember, this week’s Tuesday Trivia is simple and fun (wow, what a change!)
