About Mozambique

«Petits Músics del Món»

Petits Músics del Món takes part in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, a semi-presidential African country located between Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Mozambique has 31.6 million inhabitants and the capital, Maputo, has 1.08 million people. It is one of the countries in the world with the lowest Development Index (HDI) ranking 181st.

In Mozambique, the majority of the population (67%) is engaged in primary activities, such as forestry, fishing, mining and, mainly, agriculture.

Mozambique’s economic poverty is also reflected in the education system, where the government does not have the ability to purchase resources needed by students, such as chairs and desks, study materials, books, etc. Many schools are in ruins, with open or leaking roofs, broken windows or no windows at all. When it rains or there are strong winds, children miss school because the deteriorated infrastructure cannot withstand these weather conditions.

The schools have classrooms with a large number of students, due to the lack of schools. A class usually has a total of 100 students in each class with a teacher attending to them and many children are forced to study under trees sitting on the ground. In Maputo, children have to walk long distances of around 20 kilometers to get to the nearest school in the area.

In this country there are a large number of difficulties and problems that limit the rights of children, young people and women. In addition, these problems occur both in cities and in rural areas.

works in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi and is one of the poorest areas of the city, area 23. Malawi is a country in the presidentialist Republic of Africa bordering Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Malawi has 18.5 million inhabitants and the capital, Lilongwe has 812,000 people. Malawi is among the 20 poorest countries in the world, ranked 172 in the Human Development Index (HDI), with a per capita income of $ 330.

It is a basically agricultural country, with a production focused on wheat, tea, sugar and coffee. Much of the population lives in rural areas and 85% of Malawians are engaged in this activity, which accounts for 90% of export revenue. Rural areas lack a network of water distribution, water supply and irrigation systems. This situation implies an absolute dependence on the weather conditions, leaving the agricultural population in a very vulnerable situation.

These issues in the countryside and in the rural areas translate to internal migratory flows into the cities, especially to the more precarious urban neighborhoods, as would be the case in Area 23 of Lilongwe. This area is located on the southeastern tip of Lilongwe and is the specific area where this Petits Músics is working.

Area 23 is about 10 km from the city center, at a considerable distance and difficult to access without the use of transport. This is a great cost for most families who have low pay to stay. Schools have been built in Lilongwe settlements, but they do not cover the education of all girls and boys and fail to provide quality and comprehensive education. At least 70% of the settlements surrounding Lilongwe do not have enough seats for students.

This has led to a great overcrowding of the classrooms, reaching a ratio of 1 teacher to 120 students. It is noteworthy that schools do not have the right resources; there is a lack of tables, chairs and school supplies. These structural educational gaps and obstacles impede the development of education.