As a result of a 1994 peace agreement, a two-party parliamentary government is offering the hope of stability to this country. But, Mozambique has a long way to go. War has robbed the country of infrastructures and the ability to provide for itself. More than 25 percent of Mozambican children don't live to celebrate their fifth birthday. Malnutrition stunts the growth of 55 percent of the children.
Thousands continue to die of preventable and curable diseases like malaria and diarrhea.
World Relief, the relief and development arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, has successfully instituted an ingenious program whereby the poorest of the poor can be set up in business and freed from the clutches of poverty. It's called Community Banking. Because World Relief emphasizes working thorough local evangelical churches, most often group members are part of the same church. The group meets once a week for six weeks to learn about simple business practices, nutrition and health, stewardship, and how the bank will operate. With the loan some members might purchase flour, oil, and yeast in quantity to begin a bread-baking business.