Children and their toys

What do you do when you don't have any toys? Well of course, you make your own! I love watching these kids play with their homemade toys.

Homemade soccer ball

How simple, but you see it everywhere!

Many homemade cars and trucks,
with steering

The family below sells bricks on the side of the road not far from Amatongas. Now when we drive up they come runnng down the hill wanting their picture taken. The pictures below were actually taken by one of the kids after I had given them my camera.

Buying Goats

I haven't been carrying my camera around enough, so many opportunities for great photos are lost. Seems like things happen every day and "I wish I would have had my camera" comes out of my mouth again. However, since I remembered to bring my camera yesterday afternoon when we went to buy goats, I thought I would post them below. We are starting to purchase some animals as part of our Sustainable Support Projects. Projects we hope will support the school for years to come. Also, we wanted to buy the goats locally to help the people of Amatongas.

The Sunset

 Amazingly, as much as I say Amatongas is a small village, it really is quite large, 36,000 people. We got a better understanding of just how large when we traveled to look at the goats. Thanks to our rugged Land Cruiser, we made it through some tough trails and then walked up a hill to visit a family.


The Family

I am sure the money we used to purchase two goats can feed this family for a few months. Also, looking around I saw no water. I am sure the women spend a better part of the day carrying water, perhaps for hours.

The Goats

The House on the Hill

 They laughed at me when I kept taking pictures. The pictures don't do it justice. The sunset was incredible, truly Africa.

The Sunset 2

The Trail

"Team Amatongas" getting ready for La. Marathon

http://www.thelouisianamarathon.com/

Thanks to Craig Sweeney, the race director, "Mission Amatongas" is a Charity Partner for the Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge, La. January 15, 2012. Join "Team Amatongas" and help us sponsor more boarding students next year. Just click on "Mission Amatongas" when registering. Please help us spread the word about our new mission in Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in Africa, by sending this to people you know who might be interested.

We are trying to sponsor as many orphans in the area as we can manage next year. Amatongas is the home of many orphans due to diseases and years of war, many live together in very small houses built by charities in the past. We have also found many orphanages in the area caring for younger children, but as they get a little older their needs change.

Please contact us if you would like to help with our Mission and especially our "Charity Partnership" with the La. Marathon.

Bathroom Donation

We are extremely excited to begin work on repairing the student bathrooms. Thanks to a generous donation in the memory of the mother and father of Br. Noel Lemmon, SC, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Louis Lemmon, Sr., we have already begun repairing the roof and windows. In the next few weeks the plumber will begin installing 8 new toilets, 8 urinals and new plumbing for showers and sinks. The bathrooms are used by our boarders every day and we hope to have 50 boarders next year. A dream we hope to make a reality.
Ametur Cor Jesu


New "real" urinals and plumbing will go here



"Real" toilets will replace these

 

We hope to tile the floor as well

 

Old Septic Tank roof caved in

 

New lighting, new ceiling and new windows will be installed



Computer Story

You won't want to pass up reading this incredible story from the Baton Rouge, La. newspaper. It brings up so many different feelings I'm not sure where to start. As many of you know, we are trying to start our own computer lab here in Amatongas next year. First thing on the list now is security. My prayers go out to all of you at SJA (St. Joseph's Academy) and to those who, for reasons we will never know, stole the donated computers.

http://theadvocate.com/utility/homepagestories/484065-98/computer-lab-2.0

Vacation Days

It is vacation time here in Mozambique. The kids are off from school for two weeks. We have used the time to clean the school and do a few other jobs we can't do while the kids are around. I have taken the opportunity to show a few random pictures from around the school. Hope you enjoy. While the U.S. is suffering a heat wave, it's still cool here in Moz. They say it stays cool until August, so I'm expecting a change soon.

Br. Lucas travels to Maputo this week to meet with the Department of Education. We are submitting our applications to teach and hoping to receive a salary.

Again, thanks to Patrick Young, CHS '84 and my classmate, we have been operating our big saw daily. (see video in previous post)

A weeks worth of wood cut by new saw

  Our future residence is taking shape and looks great with a coat of new paint. FYI: The brothers will live on the 3rd floor. The 2nd floor will be guest rooms on the left and the school computer lab on the right in the picture below. The 2nd floor will also host the infirmary and counseling office. We hope the bottom floor will be a library and teacher work room. Stay tuned.


Brothers residence (3rd floor)  gets new paint

  Here is a sad story, but I thought I would share it with you. In the picture below you will see a very cute monkey on the back of a bike. As I was walking through school one day a crowd was gathering around this bike so I had to check it out. After a brief exchange, I learned this man was trying to sell the monkey for 200 Meticais or about $6. I tried to explain that what he was doing was illegal, but I don't think he understood or didn't care. Just another day in Moz.


He's saying, "send me home".

  One more SSP (Sustainable Support Project) almost complete: After much work we have finally completed the piggery and will be purchasing pigs next week. Our plan is to start with 3 pigs. I have received a few requests to explain the SSP's. The SSP's are a project of the CHS class of 1984, my class. My classmates got together before I left and wanted to do a group project. We thought it would be good to invest the money raised in projects that would help support the school for many years to come. I will have a complete SSP update on the blog soon, but the projects include the farm, piggery, banana plantation, and raising chickens and goats.


Piggery - Finally ready for pigs next week

  The winter months of June and July are ending here, but we are enjoying the beautiful poinsetia trees which grow so big.


Poinsetia tree outside our house - It's winter here!

 I thought this turkey, which walks around the school grounds, was so random yet beautiful. He also doesn't have to worry about Thanksgiving coming up.


Turkey living in the school yard - No worries, No Thanksgiving







Another SSP - Back property being cleared for corn planting in October -
Huge Mangos trees in background



TDM offers up hope for lab

Met with the director of TDM (Telecommunication de Mozambique) yesterday. This was the second meeting with the director and we have had many visits from the TDM technical staff. They informed us that they will install a repeater-booster on our bell tower for "free". Therefore, no need for a very expensive satellite system. This will finally allow us to possibly have a computer lab in the school, one of our goals. Now we just need a computer lab.



Future Computer Lab - Formerly the Franciscans Community Room



New Saw Belts Mean New Life

It may not sound like a big deal, but getting new belts for our big saw here in Amatongas is an incredible improvement. Thanks to Patrick Young and J.A. Young and Associates from Baton Rouge, La for getting the belts and shipping them here, not an easy task. The new belts will allow us to buy wood at a much cheaper price therefore improving our lives here and providing more jobs for the local people. Please check out the video below.

Br. Angel celebrates 25 years of brotherhood

       Sunday, July 3, the community in Amatongas gathered for mass to celebrate Br. Angel's 25th anniversary as a Brother of the Sacred Heart. The ceremony was highlighted by spontaneous applause and much dancing. Br. Angel took the time at the end of mass to thank all those who have impacted his life and especially mentioned the wonderful children and people of Amatongas.

Brs. Angel, Fabian, Chris and Lucas took
the occasion renew their vows together

Br. Angel is congratulated by a student

We would like to take this occasion to thank all of those who have helped us these first 5 months in Amatongas. We realize each day in prayer that we could not do the work here without much help from our communities around the world, our families and many friends. Ametur Cor Jesu

Goodbye & Thanks Michael and Mark

Mark Clements with friends in Amatongas

We said goodbye to our volunteers on Monday. Thanks Michael and Mark for all your work and especially your love and dedication to our children in Amatongas.

Please read their daily blog here http://www.hiabroad.org/mission-amatongas-blog.html

It's a great read!

Mark and Michael with director of Amatongas Clinic

HIA Volunteers in Amatongas

Health Initiatives Abroad (HIA) volunteers, Michael Kline and Mark Clements have been in Amatongas for a week now preparing a report for their organization. HIA is raising funds for a future infirmary at our school here in Amatongas and the report being prepared will help them in their efforts. Please check out the website above.

It has been great having Mark and Michael here this week bringing a breath of fresh air and much energy to our new work. They have interviewed many health officials and school personnel gathering information for their report.

Mark and Michael interviewed 83 year old
retired missionary nurse "Nana" near Amatongas

Amatongas welcomes volunteers

Mark Clements and Michael Kline visit boarding students in Amatongas

Many thanks to our first two volunteers to visit us in Amatongas. Michael Kline and Mark Clements, both graduates of Catholic High in Baton Rouge and students at LSU, arrived Wednesday, June 15 with much needed soccer equipment. Thanks to the efforts of Bo Cassidy, CHS Soccer Coach, and Third Coast Soccer the volunteers delivered 6 bags of soccer balls, jerseys, and other supplies. 

Thanks Bo Cassidy and 3rd Coast Soccer for the new balls and jerseys

The local children in Amatongas with new jersey's from 3rd Coast Soccer

Other news from Amatongas

We finally welcomed the fourth member of our community when Brother Fabian Jongwe arrived from Zimbabwe on Sunday. 

Amatongas Community: Angel, Lucas, Fabian and Chris

The brothers new residence is about two months from completion, but by the time this gets out on the internet the good news is that the roof is finished. Now work continues on the electricity and water.

The 4 brothers will live on the top floor of this old Franciscan residence

After cutting and clearing the large property in front of the school, we found and rented a tractor to disc the land and make it more suitable for planting, quite an accomplishment after 2 months of hard work. We will most likely plant beans and corn here for the students and possibly to sell.

Finally, the little guy below is a Puff Adder killed by one of our workers with a sling shot. It's double the size of one I killed myself. The people say they this one is very big. I agree.

Add caption

From Baton Rouge to Mozambique

HIA, Catholic High, Third Coast team up to send soccer equipment to Amatongas

Catholic High boys’ soccer head coach Bo Cassidy and Third Coast Soccer are working with HIA to send soccer equipment to Amatongas, Mozambique in June, where Michael Kline and fellow HIA member Mark Clements will be spending the first of five planned summers assisting in the development of a new Brothers of the Sacred Heart mission.

Read full article here:

http://digbatonrouge.com/article/from-baton-rouge-to-mozambique-1938/

Changes

Check out the before/after pictures below. Changes are slow in coming here, but there are changes. A huge amount of paint, blood, sweat and a great deal of help from friends in our first three months in Amatongas has resulted in some not so minor changes to the school.

Before

After much paint, sweat and a little help from friends

The picture below shows our future pig house. Believe it or not, you could not even see this building through the vines, trees and bushes growing around and in the buildings. It took over a month to clear and clean. Next week we will put the new roof on and hopefully begin acquiring pigs next month. This Sustainable Support Project will hopefully provide funds and food for the school next year.

Future pig residence

The students are enjoying the new residence hall and study room shown below. We have two study periods. The first from 8:30-10:30 for the afternoon students and the second from 1:30-3:30 for the morning school students. If you haven't heard already, we have three sessions of students attending classes in the morning, afternoon and the evening. There are over 800 students attending this coed school each day from 6:30 AM until 11:00 PM every day.

New study room for resident students

Also, work began last week on the future residence for the brothers. This residence next to the school was the house for the Franciscans who first built the school. Since the civil war, it has been abandoned and in need of much repair. The roof, which had many leaks causing major problems, will be the first project. The residence will house the four brothers assigned to Amatongas as well as volunteers and other guests.

Work begins on future brothers residence

Easter Blessings

It was indeed an Easter Blessing to wake up Sunday morning a take my first shower in more than three weeks, and a hot shower as well.

We had a beautiful Easter Vigil beginning at 8:00 PM with great singing and dancing to celebrate our Lord's resurrection. After the vigil the whole congregation gathered for cake, cookies and mango juice prepared by the Brothers in Amatongas.

One other bit of news was the beginning of the rebuilding of our new/old residence. This residence was formerly used by the Franciscans when they first built the school 50 years ago. Since Independence in 1972, it has been used for teachers for a few years and then basically abandoned for at least the last 10 years or so. Work is expected to take 5-6 months.

We'll be up on the third floor.

Palm Sunday

A few pictures from our Palm Sunday liturgy attended by 1200 young people and celebrated by the great Bishop of Chimoio.

Love the Mitre