Community development and health project: a 5-year (1995-1999) experience in Mozambique, Africa

The Community Development and Health Project (1995-1999) in Mozambique, East Africa, was undertaken to help alleviate the dire circumstances of daily life following years of internal warfare. The project was supported by the International United Methodist Church and was administered by the Mozambique Conference of the United Methodist Church, Chicuque Rural Hospital and Cambine Health Center. The target population, whose daily survival depended on subsistence farming, lived throughout the country, in particular in rural areas, far from health care facilities. The Project Content included the following topics: basic education in personal and environmental hygiene; proper nutrition using locally available food products; methods of agriculture that would ensure the best use of the land for growing nutritious food; economic methods to guarantee a supply of safe drinking water; disease prevention/home treatment; maternal child health; self-esteem issues; and establishing a representatively inclusive community-development committee. Indigenous women, the 'promotoras/os', were selected from their communities, attended a 4-week training session and then returned to their homes as 'Promotoras/os of Community Development and Health'.