Global Poverty Monitor

After the markets we got back in the bus, and went for a long drive to the Mozal aluminum smelting plant. We found out that it was owned in part by South African and Australian companies, and someone asked Fillemina what the Mozambicans thought of the plant. She told us that, in general, the Mozambicans were afraid that the plant may cause high levels of pollution. She also said that having the plant there did not increase local employment rates as one might expect – because there is a high level of training required. We also heard that Mozal supported and funded a nearby high school called the Nelson Mandela school. That was only up the road, so we drove there and had a look at the school briefly. Then we went to have lunch, at a place suggested by Cardoza since he knew we were interested in trying traditional Mozambique food. The restaurant put on a banquet for us, with all different traditional foods, including crabs, prawns, calamari, curry, steamed rice, a porridge and a vegetable dish.

After lunch we drove back into the centre of Maputo city and started a tour of the slums. There were people everywhere, mainly men, with a few children and women. There were so many stalls and makeshift shops set up, that it seemed like every person was trying to sell something. Leanne had brought some tennis balls with her, and gave them out the window to some children, along with some lollypops. The smiles on the kids’ faces were amazing – their faces just lit up when they saw this thing that was brand new, clean, bright, and all theirs. I started to really look forward to tomorrow when we get to visit the day hospital and two schools, and I can give out some of the presents I’ve brought with me.

After the slums we went to the Maputo fish markets. This was much more interesting than I had expected. One of the men who worked in the restaurant behind the market showed us around, and we gave him a tip at the end because he had been so nice and helpful, even though we weren’t buying anything. The seafood was amazing – the prawns and crabs were the biggest I have even seen. Dad would have been drooling – except possibly for the smell, which was quite bad to begin with, but which I got used to quite quickly.