Eneida, the young electrician who wants to transform her quiet village with smart lighting

Driven by her love of electricity, Eneida Piedade Domingos, 24, was inspired to transform her quiet village in the interior of the Guro district with smart lighting, after having benefited from the electrical installation course promoted within the DELPAZ programme.

The daughter of a former Renamo guerrilla fighter, she says that the armed conflict in her district has slowed development, but also the form of lighting, which is not in tune with the harmony of light compared to developed cities in the country and the world.

‘This was the opportunity I found to take a course,’ she says, emphasising that this gave her the knowledge she needed to realise her dream of seeing her village use technology to light its houses and streets. Eneida points out that although this technique is already applied in other parts of the world, it is still little used in her district.

‘The example of using photocells in houses makes it possible to flip the switch at a certain time and light up a room without the need for human presence,’ as well as the use of app-controlled smart bulbs to save energy consumption in homes, he explains enthusiastically.

She emphasised that ‘the course helped me to come up with ideas for changes in my district, such as the use of objects that many people already use’ in advanced cities.

Eneida finished compulsory schooling without having had the opportunity for vocational training, especially in the field of electricity, her passion since childhood, and sees this opportunity as a window of change for her social life as well.

‘I am a woman and I was able to take the electricity course; therefore, I encourage other women to take this type of training and find a job,’ to achieve economic independence and “not just wait for men to work”.

She insists that women should be able to support the family on their own and ‘not just wait for the man, wait for money from someone, so having an education is important to be able to support one’s family,’ she notes, thanking DELPAZ for its efforts in providing training opportunities for young people.

‘I am very happy that the DELPAZ programme has given us this opportunity to study, I am really grateful, because even though not all the young people in my district were able to take the course, I will reach out to other young people to teach and together transform our district,’ says Eneida Piedade Domingos.

A total of 100 young people has already benefited from vocational training in carpentry, metallurgy, construction, mechanics and tailoring in the five districts where DELPAZ is implemented in the province of Manica.

The DELPAZ programme pays special attention to creating opportunities for young people, women, ex-combatants and their families.

In all five districts of Manica Province, thousands of people have already benefited from DELPAZ, which is implementing projects in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure and entrepreneurship to ensure the economic and social reintegration of all ex-combatants, their families and rural communities affected by the conflict, in order to achieve lasting peace in Mozambique.

The Mozambican government’s programme is funded by the European Union, and together with UNCDF is implemented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), which implements DELPAZ in the provinces of Manica and Tete, and by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) in Sofala.

Evelina, Afonso Dhlakama’s former cook who used certified seeds for the first time

By family tradition, Evelina Zacarias had stored some of the maize kernels from her harvest in the barn to use them as seed for the next farming season in 2023, but climate change, which has caused drought in her village, has called this practice into question.

“We always kept the kernels that looked healthier. It’s a tradition that goes back to my grandparents, but as the rainy season waned, the seeds sprouted and withered immediately due to the sun at this stage, and so we lost most of the production, with one ear or the other surviving” in the field, which was then harvested and stored for planting, she explains.

The former guerrilla of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) was reintegrated after her recent demobilisation in the village of Zivale, a locality in the interior of Muda Serração, in the district of Gondola, in the province of Manica, where, in addition to her family, she cultivates to support herself.

She joined a farmers’ association as part of the disarmament, demobilisation and social reintegration (DDR) process and received certified seed for the first time thanks to a DELPAZ support line.

“We received the certified seeds and I planted them in the field for the first time. Wary, I set aside a plot where I sowed traditional seeds, but everything that sprouted died because of the sun. All the food I have today comes from certified seed,” she explained.

“The certified seeds have greatly improved my income from field production. I had no idea that the drought was caused by climate change and that we had to react with new farming techniques and improved seeds that DELPAZ technicians are teaching us,” she remarks, as she rearranges the bundles of hay that will cover a new barn.

Evelina Zacarias, 50, reintegrated in Zivale, fought for the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) guerrillas for 18 years, serving as a carer for the historical leader’s children and then as Afonso Dhlakama’s cook, and has been demobilised twice, most recently in June 2020.

Evelina was recruited into guerrilla warfare at the age of seven in 1981, during the 16-year civil war, and was demobilised a first time in 1994 by the UN peacekeeping mission in Mozambique (Onumoz). After 18 years of civilian life, she rejoined the guerrillas to ‘fight for democracy’ in 2012, when Afonso Dhlakama summoned and regrouped former guerrillas in the Gorongosa mountain range in Sofala.

“I was recruited with my father in Mpunga and from there with General Ossufo (Momade) we left for Gorongosa, then for a base in Maringue and then for Massala,” a journey that took months on foot, the woman recounts, pointing out that it was in Massala that she was first demobilised.

Now the mother of eight children, all born during the intervals of the conflicts, she initially received military training for combat but was then assigned to look after the children of President Afonso Dhlakama, who later also served as cook.

“There were houses where the leader’s wives and children were and we looked after them. We washed their clothes in the rivers and cooked for them until the end of the war. President Dhlakama always came there where the wives and children were and assured us that one day the war would end, and this went on until we were demobilised for the first time in 1992,” she says with an enviable energy in her gestures.

The former guerrilla recalls that on her first demobilisation she returned to her home village of Búzi with a machete, an axe, a hoe and a bank cheque, which she never cashed because it burnt down in the hut where she lived during a fire.

She was demobilised again as part of the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) process – which stems from the peace agreement signed in 2019 – and is now devoting her life to her family and farming.

“We are learning to overcome the drought with new production methods and this will improve our income, so we can take care of our family,” says Evelina, her usual discreet smile highlighting the dark features that cross her face.

She hopes to one day mechanise farming and abandon the hoe he uses to cultivate his two hectares of land, dedicated exclusively to growing maize and sesame.

The ex-guerrillas are among the thousands of beneficiaries of the DELPAZ Programme, which ensures the economic and social reintegration of all ex-combatants, their families and rural communities affected by the conflict, in order to achieve lasting peace in Mozambique.

From conflict to agriculture: Evelina, an example of rebirth thanks to the DELPAZ programme

Posted on 15/01/202416/01/2024 by AICS Maputo

In Mozambique, particularly in the district of Gondola in Manica province, positive change is transforming lives and communities thanks to the DELPAZ programme. This programme is demonstrating its concrete impact through stories of rebirth like that of Evelina, a former guerrilla involved in the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Social Reintegration (DDR) process.

A witness to this transformation, Evelina recently shared her experience in an article published in the SAVANA newspaper. From her life in conflict, she is now embarking on a new path centred on agriculture and the well-being of her family. Her testimony is not only an inspiration, but also tangible proof of the value of programmes like DELPAZ in changing destinies and regenerating communities, and reflects the success of a holistic approach that goes beyond mere assistance, investing in human potential and local resources.

The DELPAZ Programme seeks to coordinate efforts between the government, partners and civil society organisations to invest in infrastructure, agricultural development and entrepreneurship. This endeavour aims to relaunch the economy of communities affected by conflict in 14 districts in the provinces of Manica, Tete and Sofala. Thanks to funding from the European Union and the implementation of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Manica and Tete; the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) in Sofala; with the support of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), DELPAZ supports the creation of opportunities to improve the lives of many people.