Learn How Donors' Contributions Improve Living Conditions in Southern Mozambique

By Álvaro Malamba, Communications and Advocacy Coordinator 

World Vision Legacy

In a quiet corner of the Guijá and Mabalane districts, in Gaza Province, a single image speaks volumes: little Alice, still a baby, rests peacefully in the arms of her grandmother, Teresa. Two distinct generations, separated by decades, yet bound by an invisible thread of hope, the same thread that runs through World Vision’s work in Mozambique.

Teresa grew up in a time when access to clean water was a daily struggle. She walked for kilometres to fetch water from the river. She never had the chance to attend school. Diseases like malaria were widespread, and healthcare was almost nonexistent.

“Children grew up with very little, little food, little information, little protection,” she recalls.

Now, as she looks into her granddaughter’s eyes, Teresa is certain that Alice’s future will be different. Alice was born to adult parents who planned her arrival, free from the pressure of child marriage. She was delivered in a hospital bed, with professional care, unlike Teresa, who was born beneath a tree, in a time and place where hospital care was unimaginable.

Alice not only has a name, but one of her most fundamental rights was secured within her first few days of life: the right to birth registration, a symbol of dignity, protection, and access to basic care from the very start.

Change is tangible. Today, their community has a clean water supply system close to home, made possible through World Vision’s partnership with local actors. The community school has desks, safe toilets, and trained teachers. The nearby health centre is staffed by qualified professionals and stocked with essential medicines. Local child protection groups are active and alert, identifying and referring cases of violence and neglect.

Families are supported through sustainable agriculture programmes that boost food production and help them withstand extreme weather events. As a result, Alice can grow up with a varied, nutritious diet and be protected from harmful cultural practices that affected previous generations.

This is the impact of an integrated approach that sees the whole person. A model that brings together clean water and sanitation, healthcare, education, child protection, food security and community resilience, directly contributing to the sustainable development of local communities.

Beyond programmes and statistics, real transformation is visible in lives like Teresa’s and Alice’s, one generation looking back with gratitude, the other looking forward with hope.

“I’m confident my granddaughter will grow up with opportunities I never even imagined. That’s what gives me peace,” says Teresa, her smile full of stories.

The reality of Alice and Teresa demonstrates the work World Vision, through the support of donors and grants, has been delivering to the organization's mission: Life in all its fullness.

And it is for them, for the Alice, the Teresa, and for every generation, that organisation continues walking alongside communities every day until the transformation is fulfilled.