Lucas Daniel is 22 years old and has never left Pindanganga, a small village in the district of Gondola. It was there that he grew up, among red earth, mango trees, sugar cane, maize fields and sorghum. He studied up to 10 class and, after that, he began to help his parents with their small crop. 
For a long time, his future seemed already mapped out: working the land, just like his father. However, in 2024, an opportunity arose that would change the course of his life. Lucas was selected, along with twenty other young people from the district, to attend a training course at IFPELAC in Chimoio, promoted under the DELPAZ programme, in cooperation with district authorities, as part of local economic development.
It lasted only two weeks, but they were intense — enough to open up new horizons for him and awaken fresh perspectives about his future.
There was no metalworker in his village. Any problem involving metal parts meant people had to travel dozens of kilometres. Lucas saw this gap as an opportunity. Without hesitation, he chose the metalworking course.
After the training, he returned to Pindanganga with a clear idea: to start immediately. In August 2025, with the kit he had received and a great deal of determination, he set up a small, improvised workshop at the entrance of a shop run by a woman who sells a bit of everything, at the end of the village’s main road. For now, he pays no rent. He bought a small 220-watt generator, paid for instalments, and began his activity.
Every day, from Monday to Friday, from seven in the morning until sunset, Lucas is there. He welds, repairs, fixes. He does what no one in the village could do before.
On the day we met him, he was working on a motorbike. A 10 meticais coin had caused a hole in a metal part. Lucas sourced small pieces of sheet metal, carefully adapted them, and, with his welding machine, brought the damaged part back to life. The customer paid 230 meticais — a service that, without him, would have required a long journey. Lucas earns a profit of around 2,000 meticais per week. He does not yet have a bank account and usually deposits his money via E-mola. 
At weekends, Lucas dedicates himself to the church, his training, and helping his father in the fields. But his mind is still full of plans.
His dream is clear: to acquire a more powerful generator and a stronger welding machine — the one he currently uses is weak, overheats easily, and forces him to stop working frequently. More than that, he wants to build a proper workshop, his own space where he can work and, perhaps one day, train other young people.
He has already even chosen a name: “Majdimba Workshop”, in honour of his father.
The project is ambitious, but concrete: between land, building materials and a new generator, he estimates a total cost of around 50,000 meticais.
His father, Majdimba — whose real name is Daniel Maparadji — follows everything with pride. A former Renamo combatant, originally from Buzi district in Sofala province, he lived through the difficult years of the civil war. Demobilised in 1992 and again in 2021, after the 2019 Maputo Agreement, he now sees in his son’s journey a sign of hope and renewal.
Where he once experienced war, Lucas is building the future — piece by piece.