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| Water treatment and additional latrines have improved sanitation in the village. The neighborhood has also been spruced up
under the watchful eye of Alima Ibraimo, a village 'zone leader.' Stephanie Hanes |
In Africa, lives are improved without handouts
US-based charity Care For Life helps Mozambicans by supporting the goals of community leaders.
from the September 5, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 4
Care For Life, started by Arizona couple Blair and Cindy Packard, treats those concepts as goals.
Ms. Packard, a midwife, first focused on Mozambique after watching footage of the 1999 floods there – in particular, the famous image of a woman giving birth in a tree. When she read about the high child-mortality rate in this region, she decided that she and her husband needed to try to help. In 2000, she visited Mozambique; the next year, she and her husband set up their nonprofit.
At first, the mission was broad: They wanted to alleviate suffering while leaving a sense of self-reliance. (Although the Packards are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as are many of the volunteers with Care For Life, the organization has no formal ties with the Mormon church.) [Editor's note: the original version misidentified the Packard's church.]
The couple began their work in Maputo, the capital. But soon they shifted their operations to the port city of Beira, the capital of Central Mozambique's impoverished Sofala region, where they saw a greater need. HIV infection rates here hover around 37 percent; life expectancy barely hits 40.
At first, the organization handed out food aid, worked with orphanages, and basically tried to do all of the traditional aid organization outreach activities.
But many staff members felt the group was spinning its wheels.
"Before, we didn't have well-defined goals for the communities," says Ana Micas, who has worked with Care For Life since 2001. "So it was very difficult to monitor and see the results. We knew we were doing something, but it wasn't measurable. Everyone who approached us we tried to help, but there wasn't any concern about self-reliance."
Locals allowed to take control
In 2005, Bueno called a staff meeting to talk about how the group might revamp their strategy away from traditional aid donations.
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