An example of Human Transformation – The Graduation of a former sponsored child
Saturday morning in the Mozambican capital Maputo, is typically hectic, with standard movements on the main avenues, particularly those leading to the city’s most famous convention center, Joaquim Chissano Conference Center, named after the first president of Mozambique in the democratic era. The center is hosting at least two higher education institutions holding their graduation ceremonies.
On the other side of the city, Beno Xavier is preparing himself for his graduation at the Superior Institute of Health Science, a very popular institution in Mozambique among those wishing to pursue health studies in the country, which Beno has identified as the ideal place to continue his course as a Nutrition Technician.
Beno was one of the beneficiaries of World Vision Mozambique (WV-Moz) support program for years, when he was still a primary and secondary school pupil in the central province of Zambézia in the district of Mocuba.
As a child, Beno, his family and his community witnessed the construction of improved schools, pedagogical training programs for teachers in the communities, the opening of water sources in schools and around the communities, the construction and equipping of health centers to improve access to health care for Beno and other children around his community.
In addition to the above-mentioned services implemented in the community where Beno lived, his community benefited from training to improve agricultural and other income-generating activities, such as savings groups, which help community members to lead income-generating initiatives for their own sustainability.
Today, Beno, as a graduated nutrition technician, hopes to contribute to the elimination of malnutrition rates, which are still high at 37 % in Mozambique (National Institute of Statistics, 2023), and Zambezia province and his community of origin in the list of provinces holding the highest rates.
"I carry with me the love that World Vision spread in the community where I lived. In my childhood, World Vision-Mozambique visited our communities despite the adversity to mobilize parents to send their children to school. I was one of those children. Today, I carry that love, faith and integrity with me," said Beno.
Like Beno, today dozens of teachers, nurses and other professionals contribute to the development of their communities and country, because of the support programs that WV-Moz implemented, funded by different donors and individual contributions to Mozambique's development over the last 40 years.