Equip Mozambique

The Biblioteca Beireano Library saw an increase in attendance, receiving up to 500 children a day due to our proximity to schools. The library hosts a full school curriculum for students without access to their own books for classes. We added 2 desktop computers with internet access for free use as we teach digital skills to underserved populations. Additionally, we added a microscope and slides for STEM activity. We also began a mobile library initiative. Our librarian, carefully chooses a stack of books for the jail to borrow and swaps them out every two weeks. Inmates have told us that having spiritual growth books to read while incarcerated has completely changed their hearts and hopes for their futures, and they have begun to read together in small groups that are growing every week!

It's been an exciting year for the sewing school! Last year we successfully raised funds for a new building to house the school, and in March we were able to move in! The extra space made it possible to add 7 new ladies to the beginner class who are now also receiving our holistic training that aims to transform every aspect of their lives. In February we launched a new initiative among our alumni network to have them regularly meet in small cell groups, and that has been an excellent way to provide continuity and further training. We are encouraging the cell leaders to turn their groups into daughter schools to make it possible for them to multiply the transformation that they have received. These leaders were also trained in how to teach our micro-entrepreneurship course to their groups, making it more likely that everyone's sewing businesses can thrive. We were invited to start offering sewing lessons in the local jail as well, which has been such a blessing! The women there are very grateful to learn a skill that can help them start their lives over when they get out. We have started them out with small projects that can be hand-sewn, and it is beautiful to watch the healing happen in their hearts as they create beautiful things and realize their potential. We graduated our tenth cohort of students in August, and each graduate left with more than just a machine and sewing skills - she now carries renewed dignity as she becomes an agent of change in her family and community, breaking cycles of poverty and creating a new legacy of hope.

Beginning Equip Zimbabwe, empowering Zimbabwean leaders to be the change their country needs.