Still Standing

“Experiência em Água”

Como é que vocês estão? Como estão as vossas famílias?
Quem teve de mudar de casa porque a água invadiu tudo?
Quem ainda tem água da chuva estagnada dentro do quintal e na rua onde br**ca?

Janeiro e Fevereiro são meses mais complicados para a maioria dos moçambicanos. É o pico da estação chuvosa, e nos últimos 12/15 anos (fora as cheias do ano 2000) temos assistido a uma sequência de eventos meteorológicos extremos.
O aquecimento global, a localização geográfica (ao longo da costa) e topográfica “privilegiada” (e amaldiçoada!) do país, a nossa incapacidade de coexistir com o Meio Ambiente, as construções desorganizadas, a ausência ou ineficácia das drenagens, entre outros factores, tornam a vida dos moçambicanos muito mais complicada a partir do momento em que começa a chover. Para muitos, é dar muitos passos atrás do ponto de vista socio-económico, sem falar nas perdas humanas.

Em Janeiro e Fevereiro convivemos muito com um grupo de 120 crianças que só recentemente começaram a sentir a força da natureza.
E pensamos que é imperioso explicar que a culpa não é da chuva, nem do Meio Ambiente, mas sim do nosso despreparo para cuidarmos (melhor) do lugar onde vivemos: essa casa comum que se chama planeta terra.
O lixo nas valas, a ocupação (com habitação) de zonas de risco, o abate descontrolado de árvores, para citar alguns exemplos, não ajudam em nada nessa busca de coexistência.

Conversamos sobre o ciclo da água para melhor entendermos de onde ela vem e qual o caminho (normal) que ela devia seguir; e cada um de nós teve a oportunidade de expressar a sua relação ou experiência com a água por via do desenho, pintura, poesia, conto, etc.
Exercícios importantes que devem ser contínuos - em casa, na escola, em programas independentes de desenvolvimento pessoal.

Só assim, um dia, poderemos parar de amaldiçoar a chuva.

📸

The Water Experience

How are you? How are your families?
Who had to move house because the water flooded everything? Who still has stagnant rainwater in their yard and in the street where they play?

January and February are the most challenging months for most Mozambicans. It is the peak of the rainy season and, over the past 12–15 years (apart from the floods of 2000), we have witnessed a succession of extreme weather events.
Global warming, the country’s geographical location (along the coast) and its “privileged” - and cursed - topography, our inability to coexist with the environment, disorganised construction, the absence or inefficiency of drainage systems, among other factors, make life much more complicated for Mozambicans as soon as the rains begin. For many, it means taking several steps backwards from a socio-economic perspective, not to mention the loss of human lives.

In January and February we spent a great deal of time with a group of 120 children who have only recently begun to feel the force of nature.
We felt it was imperative to explain that the blame does not lie with the rain, nor with the environment, but rather with our lack of preparedness to take better care of the place where we live - that common home called planet Earth.
Rubbish in drainage ditches, the occupation of high-risk areas for housing, uncontrolled tree felling, to name just a few examples, do nothing to help in this search for coexistence.

We talked about the water cycle in order to better understand where water comes from and the (natural) path it should follow; and each of us had the opportunity to express our relationship or experience with water through drawing, painting, poetry, storytelling, and so on. These are important exercises that should be ongoing - at home, at school, and in independent personal development programmes.

Only in this way will we one day be able to stop cursing the rain.

Over the next three days, we’ll be in working sessions with the 24 All Girls participants who stood out the most in 2025. This is our way of celebrating the hard work and dedication they’ve shown throughout the many weeks of the programme - and also an encouragement for them to keep striving for excellence.

A path that requires consistency every single day.

We’ll be joined by friends we truly admire and who inspire us, leading different talks and sessions that will undoubtedly bring fresh perspectives to our girls.

A huge ASANTE SANA! to:
jpg and .art.of.maria, who are joining us for a hands-on painting and collage session, where they’ll talk about “dreams, fears, courage, and how it’s possible to build our own path - even without a map”.

To our friends from Spartan, who once again will address an extremely important and practical topic for everyday life: self-defence. Thank you so much for believing in us and for always being there, ready to step in!

To , our partners (on crime), who will help us understand human-wildlife conflict - what it is, when and how it happens, and what we can do to mitigate it and promote more harmonious coexistence.

And last, but not least, we’ll get to know the project up close and make our small contribution to this beautiful and generous idea of making art accessible.

There are so many reasons to be excited and hopeful for these three days.

Let’s gooo! 🚀

Forward.