For more than a year, Saturday is a special day in Nhangau: the elderly hosted at the Social Action Center receive the visit of their friends from the Dream community of Beira.
Daily life in Nhangau is marked by many difficulties (lack of food, lack of clothes, the weakness of the body, isolation…), but the joy of this event and that of meeting each other, cheers up the faces of all.
As soon as the news of the arrival of their friends spreads out, the elderly (but also many children and some leprosy) begin to arrive from the various houses that make up the institute; some of them arrive sustained by their cane sticks, others “run” with their wheel chairs, many (blind) are guided by the children. All are eager to hug their friends…
And the preparation of the feast begins.
It commences with the greetings of Maria (95 years old) from the movement Long Live the Elderly from Naples, which together with others, is “twinned” with Nhangau through the long distance adoption of the people who live here.
Two magnificent cakes seal this friendship without borders.
Amelia, beautifully dressed with her head adorned with a traditional cloth and large earrings, sings a song that says: “God has remembered us…” and begins to dance.
There is another source of great joy: Matias remembers October 4th, the anniversary of peace in Mozambique; Pasqua, immediately followed by all, shouts: Alleluia!
We say goodbye to each other singing, “The peace of the Lord embraces the whole world” and saying, “see you next Saturday”!
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