MOZAMBIQUE: Religious Sisters thank ACN for 4×4 to help ‘face challenges’ in north Mozambique

Religious Sisters in Mozambique have thanked a Catholic charity for a new four-wheeled drive which helps them reach those in need.

A Toyota Land Cruiser was dispatched to the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Pemba, Cabo Delgado.

Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) responded to their cry for help to meet the demands of their growing congregation.

Sister Aparecida said to ACN that the vehicle would be used by the mother superior Mother Magda Joaquim to carry out all the duties her position requires.

She added: “In Pemba, we continue to face the same challenges as always, but we are deeply confident in the grace of God, who never fails us.”

The Sisters work in education, in catechesis, with women, help the sick, and support Church needs.

Mother Magda Joaquim said: “This vehicle will help us in the Diocese of Pemba which has been experiencing times of great pain. It will also enable us to travel so we can visit and support the congregation houses in Nacal and Nampula – the northern ecclesiastical provinces.”

The congregation currently has 28 Sisters, eight novices and 14 postulants in three houses in the diocese, including the general house.

Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique. Historically poor and neglected, the population lives mostly from subsistence farming.

Damage has been caused by natural disasters including tropical storms, droughts and flooding.

And since 2017, many parts of the country, especially in the north, have been devastated by jihadist terrorism, leaving thousands homeless.

Due to extremism the congregation had to leave the districts of Palma and Mueda. They opened a new mission in Ngolhoza, in Moamba District.

The diocese also includes the novitiate in Maputo where the convent has existed since 1981, two houses in Nampula Archdiocese and one house in Nacala Diocese.

Mother Magda Joaquim said: “I thank ACN for all the good it has done for us here in Cabo Delgado, through the various aids it has granted to the Diocese of Pemba for the benefit of the people and to make the name of God known and loved.”