Have I Died and Gone to Africa?!?

A couple of weeks ago team Soul Graffiti packed up their belongings, left Coffee Bay, South Africa and began the long bus ride to Mozambique to begin our 8th month of ministry. All we knew as we got off the bus and stood on the curb with all of our backpacks to wait for a ride was that we were working at some kind of children’s home and our contacts name, ‘Angie Wheeler’. Pretty vague.

When we finally arrived on Angie’s doorstep we were greeted by a Southern accent, an excited 3 year old and a chocolate pie… What?!? And that pie was just the beginning, we are repeatedly spoiled by Angie’s hospitality day after day. And, apart from the good food and warm welcome, it is a total blessing to be involved in the ministry Angie has founded here outside of Maputo, Mozambique.

Her ministry is called ‘Beacon of Hope’ and through hands on training Angie seeks to give boys ages 14-19 the opportunity to learn trades, business and life skills that will give them an open door to future employment. The program lasts for 3 years and right now there are 6 boys living in the “Hope House”. They are responsible for taking care of themselves and Hope House, and they recieve practical training on how to do it. This includes cooking lessons, instruction on how to properly clean the house, do laundry and complete basic home repairs.

The main goal that Angie has for each of the boys is to see them pass 10th grade because that is the standard for employment here in Mozambique. The program pays for the boys to go to school – which lasts 4 hours a day – and in their off time the boys recieve additional lessons to build up their confidence and give them a head start in the classroom. The Mozambique government gives students the incentive to do well in their studies by offering different benefits to students to perform in the top of their classes. For example if you do well in a design class you could potentially win a free architecture class in a university or have the government pay for your drivers license, (a large expense, but also an asset for anyone seeking employment). Many students miss out on these opportunities because they can’t afford to attend school or simply struggle with their studies.

Along with the opportunity to do well in school Angie seeks to give the boys practical experience in making and managing money. She teaches them business and financial management – areas of experience she obtained while still living in the States – and gives them the chance to learn and get first hand experience with different trades or handicrafts. Depending on the knowledge base of the volunteers that come to work alongside her ministry the boys may learn anything from cake decorating, sewing or gardening to electrical, plumbing or carpentry. The boys are eager to learn any skill that might give them an edge or an opportunity to begin their own business.

When the boys learn a skill such as sewing a purse they put it into practice; a business plan and the merchandise is created and then the boys go down to the market and sell their goods. The profit that is made from the sales goes into a special Beacon of Hope account that is set aside for them to invest in their own business or further schooling at the programs end.