Humanitarian crisis in Mozambique Full lesson plan from redcross.org.uk/education 1

Mozambique factfile Mozambique is on the southeastern coast of Africa. It is home to around 29 million people. A long civil war ended in 1992 but Mozambique still suffers some violence between different political groups. National income per person is just over $1000, making Mozambique one of the world’s poorest countries. Around 70% of people live and work in rural communities, often growing their own food. Average life expectancy is just 56 years for men and 62 years for women. Never before have two devastating cyclones hit the country in the same year. Cyclones Idai and Kenneth were just six weeks apart.

British Red Cross ambassador Ben Fogle with Celeste, 75: “I live alone and the winds blew away my entire roof. I have never seen anything like the winds or rain when the cyclone came. I was terrified and ran to my neighbour, Fatima’s house, but when I was there the wall of her house fell onto her son and killed him. He was 8 years old and died. We then ran to the church [pictured], but that was destroyed so we ran outside. We were just running and running." 

“The cyclone devastated my home,” says Isuffo, a fisherman living in Njalane village, 25km from Beira. Three weeks after Cyclone Idai destroyed most of the village, he and many other residents are rebuilding their homes. 

The roof of this school was ripped off by Cyclone Idai and many other villages and buildings were flooded.

Photo credits and captions Images © Caroline Irby/British Red Cross 1