Four friends share a laugh during the distribution of essential household items, seeds and farming tools in Piro village, Gorongosa district. Many communities in central Mozambique were affected by armed violence over the past 2 years. Some families fled for to nearby communities or stayed with relatives until they felt safe enough to return to their homes.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Hilton Zvidzayi
The ICRC opened an operational office in Beira, central Mozambique in mid-2017 to assist and protect communities affected by armed violence. Following an ICRC assessment of the humanitarian situation, 65,000 people affected by the armed violence in Gorongosa district received humanitarian assistance in October and November 2017.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Mark Kamau
An elderly couple examine soap and maize seed they received as part of the humanitarian assistance provided by the ICRC and Mozambique Red Cross Society to communities affected by armed violence in Gorongosa district.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Tendayi Sengwe
Amelia is a mother of five children who has lived all of her life in Mussicadzi village, in the district of Gorongosa. She and her family fled when armed violence came to her village. Today she’s happy to return home as her children are able to go back to school again.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Hilton Zvidzayi
Antonio and his family fled the armed violence which affected his village near of Nhataca, in Gorongosa district. They tried to return to their fields to grow crops but they couldn’t attend to them properly as they feared for their lives. "Now we are back with nothing. The assistance we received will help us to settle back and farm again.”
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Sophie Ncube
Maria Pedro (dancing with the walking stick) could not hide her happiness on the day she and her grandchildren received the humanitarian assistance. As they could not flee the armed violence, they survived due to the support they received from their neighbours.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Tendayi Sengwe
Traquino loves football. He plays for the local football team in Mussicadzi, Gorongosa district and has scored 16 goals over the past couple of years. It’s hard to make ends meet after his village was affected by armed violence, but he is committed to rebuilding his life and taking care of his family.
