Buddhist Foundation is building Mozambique’s largest secondary school in a region devastated by a cyclone

In Mozambique’s Dondo district, one of the hardest hit by Cyclone Idai in 2019, the impressive Mafambisse Secondary School building stands out, a Tzu Chi Foundation project costing around €11 million.

“The school is designed for 7,500 students. But it can accommodate 10,000 students if there is a night shift,” explains Lusa Dino Foy, president of the Tzu Chi Charitable Foundation, which financed the construction of infrastructure to support the restoration of areas destroyed by the Idai. Category 3 cyclone that struck central Mozambique in March 2019.

A total of $13 million (€11 million) was invested in the project, whose infrastructure began in 2019 and consists of 58 classrooms distributed in seven blocks.

“When we came here [dias após a passagem do ciclone] we caught kids practicing practically in the water,” added Dino Foy.

The geographic location of Sofala province, which is among the hardest hit by cyclical natural disasters in Mozambique, has led the fund to invest in “resilient construction,” with infrastructure being built to withstand category four cyclones.

“Everything we build now is done using the United Nations Build Back Better system,” President Tzu Chi noted.

In addition to the “resilient design”, the school, which will open at the beginning of the next school year (February), was built with the ability to accommodate the population from nearby communities in the event of natural disasters or emergencies.

“In the case of this school, we have full space for the community to protect itself in the event of a disaster,” said Dino Foy.

In addition to Maphambisse Secondary School, the Tzu Chi Foundation is funding the construction of 22 more schools in the region whose infrastructure was destroyed by Yidai.

“The principle is the same: we have calculated how many primary schools are in the area so that children can continue their education after finishing primary school in secondary schools. One of the problems we face here in Mozambique is that because of the distances, children who finish primary school end up dropping out,” added Dino Foy.

“Since this school was built, the boys have improved their academic performance. Previously, our classes took place in the shade of trees, and as a result, children were easily distracted. Now the children are focused,” said Laurinda Manuel. teacher at Escola Primária Joaquim Mara, another educational institution built with Tzu Chi’s support in Nhamthanda district, also in Sofala province.

In addition to schools, the Buddhist Principles Foundation funded the construction of three thousand houses for people affected by Cyclone Idai in Sofala.

The Sofala foundation reconstruction support package is budgeted at $108 million (€101 million), provided entirely by the organization, which has been in Mozambique since 2012 supporting authorities during emergencies.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries worst hit by climate change in the world, experiencing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.

The 2018/2019 rainy season was one of the worst in Mozambique’s history, with 714 people killed, including 648 victims of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the largest to ever hit the country.