Elena Heatherwick / Oxfam
I work a few days at a time for Oxfam, explaining why good hygiene is very important and how clean water reduces disease.”
Sonia is running a small business in Mozambique
Starting a business in the wake of a cyclone
Sonia has started her own business, a shop, with the money she earns working for Oxfam. It’s only been running a few weeks but she is hoping that it will provide an income for herself and her two children.
Here Sonia tells her story.
Sonia's story
Before Idai hit my job was encouraging women who had just had babies to register their children. And to go to a post-natal follow-up session. I lived in Lamego.
When Cyclone Idai hit
When Idai hit our house was destroyed. We were a group of 7 people including my parents and my 3-year-old daughter, Serafina*.
We all climbed up a tree and stayed there from 11pm – 4am. At 5am we came down and started walking. We went to the road that was higher ground.
The next day
The next day we walked to Nhamatanda and stayed at the school there and then we resettled here in Kura resettlement camp. My parents have returned home to Lamego, my sister is here.
My parents went back home because they know that the aid would end after a while and they can’t farm here in the resettlement camp. Their crops are growing well in Lamego.
Philip Hatcher-Moore/Oxfam
Oxfam's response to Cyclone Idai
- Rebuilding and repairing water points, and providing soap and other hygiene items to fight cholera.
- Training community activists, like Sonia, in health education to keep vulnerable families safe.
- Distributing tools to help with construction and repairs, and seeds for fast-growing crops (for example, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, cabbages).
Working with Oxfam
I am staying here in the resettlement camp because I am doing some work for Oxfam which helps give me an income. I work a few days at a time for Oxfam explaining why good hygiene is very important and how clean water reduces diseases.
My hope for the future is to build my own house as I have a temporary grass and stick house.
£1.3k
can buy a portable water-testing kit to ensure water is safe to drink
£10k
can build a flood shelter for 200 families and livestock
£59k
can buy a drilling rig to find clean water in the most difficult conditions