In the village of Catandica, in Báruè district, life has never been easy for Izaquel Mário. At just 18 years old and having studied up to the eighth grade, the future seemed uncertain and full of limited opportunities. In a place where employment is scarce, many young people end up losing hope far too early.

Izaquel’s life began to change when he was selected to take part in a training course promoted under the DELPAZ programme, in cooperation with district authorities, within the framework of local economic development. The son of a former RENAMO combatant saw at this opportunity a door opening to a new path. He travelled to Chimoio with other young people and chose to study metalwork at IFPELAC.

It was two intense weeks, full of learning. Although short, it gave him the foundations of a profession and, above all, the possibility of believing in a different future. Izaquel is shy and does not speak Portuguese well, but when he expresses himself in his local language, he speaks with confidence — and it is there that his determination becomes clear.

Always by his side is his father, Mário Amadeu, a man of clear ideas and great sense of responsibility. With twelve children, he knows well the value of opportunity. “We must help our young people find a path,” he says. “Without work, what can they do? If we do not give them opportunities, they risk going down the wrong paths.” Mário Amadeu is one of the DDR participants under the 2019 Maputo Agreement. He had already been demobilised in 1994, after the signing of the 1992 General Peace Agreement, having joined the struggle in 1982 in Sofala province. Today he only wants peace.

After the training and receiving the work kit, the father realised it would not be easy for Izaquel to start on his own. Two weeks were not enough to master the trade. He therefore decided to seek help from a master metalworker to begin the activity.

He recruited Alberto Linosse Macolone, who learned the trade of metalwork in Zimbabwe but had never had the opportunity to work upon returning. When he received the proposal, he accepted immediately.

Today, Izaquel and Alberto, under the supervision of father Mário, work in a small workshop located at the entrance to Catandica, along the N6. The space was provided free of charge by a local trader, which is a great help. Through effort, they began producing iron chairs, wheelbarrows and window grilles.

Income: a chair is sold for 250 meticais, a wheelbarrow for 2,500, and the grilles bring in around 500 meticais for labour. It is not much, but it is enough to secure the essentials.

More importantly, it is the beginning of a new story. Amid the sound of iron being shaped and daily work, Izaquel is not just learning a trade — he is building his future. And his father Mário can dedicate himself to his small farm, always keeping an eye on the roadside workshop.

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.

In the village of Muda Serração, where the sound of machinery has not echoed for many years and time seems to move at the pace of the land, lives Adinha Pita, a 26-year-old woman with a smile that insists on shining, even when life feels heavy.

Muda Serração takes its name from an old sawmill, the oldest in Manica Province, now silent. Here, women work the land, take care of the children and the home, while the men, for the most part, leave for the mines of South Africa.

Adinha once had her dreams built for two as well. But life sometimes chooses difficult paths. Serious problems in her marriage forced her to return to her parents’ home, bringing with her what matters most: her daughter Betty, aged 6, and little António, just 4 months old.

The children’s father remained behind — and with him, responsibility that never came in the form of support. But Adinha does not speak of this with bitterness. She speaks of the future.

While António smiles in the capulana that wraps him on his mother’s back, she imagines the day when she will be able to start again. She is simply waiting for the baby to grow a little more, to reach six months, so she can go in search of work — or, even better, create her own path.

Adinha took a decisive step when she attended a cookery course at IFPELAC in Chimoio, promoted under the DELPAZ programme, in cooperation with district authorities, within the framework of local economic development. She was selected from among other candidates and, from the outset, stood out for her dedication and willingness to learn. Throughout the training, she refined her skills, gained confidence, and began to imagine new possibilities for her future.

In the end, she received more than a certificate: she received tools to dream with. An electric kettle, a mixer, a table, a chair and an electric cake oven — small items that, in the right hands, become tangible bridges towards a different future.

“Here it is not easy to sell cakes,” she says. “People are not very used to celebrations. This is a rural area.”

Cake prices range from 650 to 1000 meticais depending on size.

Even so, there are special days. 1 June, for example, when Children’s Day is celebrated. In such moments, someone remembers Adinha. And she responds with dedication, turning flour, eggs and sugar into decorated cakes that bring joy to the celebration.

And Adinha dreams beyond cakes.

She imagines a small roadside stall — Muda Serração lies between Muxúnguè and Inchope — a place where travellers can stop and find hot food: rice, curry, samosas. A small stand where she could sell ready-made meals and earn enough for herself and her children.

“There are no stalls like that here,” she says. “It would be a good opportunity.”

And she believes. She believes with a calm certainty, the kind that makes no noise but endures.

She is not alone. Mr André Bartolomeu, focal point for DELPAZ in Gondola District, follows her journey closely.

“She is a good girl,” he says. “She showed that during the course. And she has worked very hard.”

He believes Adinha will find her place. And she believes it too.

For now, Adinha finds strength in small things: in Betty’s laughter, in António’s quiet breathing, and in messages exchanged with her course colleagues in a WhatsApp group where they share ideas, challenges and courage.

Because, deep down, Adinha knows: her story is not made only of hardship.

And while the world around her seems still, like the old sawmill that gave the village its name, inside her everything continues to move. The future has not yet arrived — but it has already begun.