ItalianoThe goal of the project is to develop an emergency program to support the population of the Province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country. Thousands of people are fleeing villages in the north of the country to escape the violence of Islamic terrorists and the fury of cyclones.
Since 2018, the terrorist group “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)” has been attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region opposed by the Mozambican security forces. The UN considers the situation increasingly alarming and is certified that the crisis has already caused more than 2,000 deaths, more than half of which are civilians, and 350,000 displaced, in a strategic region for the exploitation of enormous gas reserves. The number of internally displaced people in Mozambique increased from 15,000 at the end of 2018 to 424,200 in September 2020, mainly due to the insurgency in Cabo Delgado province. The conflict has displaced some 310,000 people (13% of Cabo Delgado’s population) in northern Mozambique. Most of the displaced families take refuge with low-resource families or refugee camps.
In addition to the atrocities of terrorists, Northern Mozambique is hit every year by the violence of cyclones which, due to climate change, get worse every year. In January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana impacted Angoche District, Nampula Province, significantly affecting all Northern Provinces including Cabo Delgado. The storm affected 126,198 people, injured 210 people and killed at least 21 people. It has also damaged 30 health centers, 23 water supply systems according to the latest data released by INGD. The storm also flooded a total of 37,930 hectares of crops, with serious concern over the impact on food security, and reportedly affected 249 schools, destroying 543 classrooms and affecting an estimated 46,777 students. In March 2022, following the passages of Tropical Storm Ana and Tropical Depression Dumako, the severe tropical cyclone (category 3) Gombe affected 100,441 people displacing 11,629 people, who are currently housed in temporary reception centres. Gombe also completely destroyed 11,882 homes and severely damaged 16 health centres, 346 classrooms (affecting 14,775 students), 141 electricity poles and 130 km of roads. Thanks to the project we will support the emergency aid program of the Augustinian nuns Hermanas Agustinas Hijas del Santísimo Salvador en Mozambique” who have been working in Mozambique for many years. The nuns assist hundreds of displaced people every day and it is difficult to establish a real number. We can say that most of them are women with their children. They left their villages, their homes with the few things they had. People come to the nuns without food, clothes and blankets. Thanks to the project, we provide them with what they need to survive but, once the emergency is over, an agri-food development and school reintegration program is also planned with the aim of giving these people back a dignified life.
