On March 14 -15 2019 Tropical Cyclone Idai ravished the impoverished country of Mozambique with winds over 220km per hour destroying thousands of homes, schools, businesses and essential services like hospitals. Over 1.5 million people were adversely impacted. Thousands of people lost everything except the clothes they had on. Whole communities were left with nothing.
Chakyl and Martina had family in Mozambique who were impacted and so they had to do something to help. Thankfully Richard and Chakyl already had a good friendship, so we immediately helped them by connecting their brand new foundation with our charity, with advice on how to collect and deliver donations. Then we put in the muscle work that makes miracles happen.
As donations arrived (usually late at night) from Sydney we baled or boxed them, added them to local donations and then had the adventures of hand loading clothes, household goods, prams, cots, boxes of toothpaste and all sorts of items in a giant Tetris game.
On Richard’s advice funds were raised to purchase shipping containers that once emptied of donations could be quickly converted into a useful building in Mozambique. Usually shipping containers are hired as they don’t stay long at filling and emptying locations.
Gail was a VIP guest at a fundraising dinner in Circular Quay, speaking on how Church 4 Life Clothing Collectors was helping.
Over a few months we were able to send 2 x 40′ containers to help the people in Mozambique. Thanks to Chakyl’s family in the local area, donations were quickly distributed, and photos sent back to Australia. If you look closely, you can see our blue bags peeking out of one of the bales on the ute in Mozambique.
It was a long, hot, hard job that took months of extra muscle and work around our usual busy schedule, but we felt honoured to be the answers to so many people’s prayers 11,011 kilometres away in Mozambique.
