It has been a double celebration for the Community of Sant'Egidio in Beira, Mozambique. On the feast day of Saint Giles, Abbot, September 1st, the Community inaugurated three new houses and delivered them to lonely old people who had lost everything in the destruction caused by Cyclone Idai in March 2019.
The houses are located in three different neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Beira. In one of them, Muchatazina, the house was built by some young people of the Community who had attended the School of Peace as children. Besides taking care of the most vulnerable - they are experiencing with the elderly what they experienced as young children: an alternative to violence and to life on the streets. Since the beginning of the emergency they have started to visit lonely elderly people. So they have met Celina, a 70-year-old widow left with no family.
In Chota, another district, the house has been given to Joana, a 69-year-old lady who takes care of her eleven grandchildren and lives with them. The new home is a real blessing for her. Lucia, 70-year-old, who lives in the neighbourhood of Nduda, could cross the threshold of her new house on the feast day of Sant'Egidio, too.
The inauguration was attended by the mayor of Beira Mr Daviz Mbepo Simango. He thanked the Community for its long-lasting work for peace in Mozambique. After supporting the Mozambican people until the end of the civil war - a commitment of great importance for the whole country – the Community has engaged in the treatment of AIDS and has stayed lately close to the Mozambicans affected by Cyclone Idai.
