"PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN"

18th April 2007

JULIO COLETE'S STORY

Julio Colete is a 27-year old Mozambican man, who lives in a small town called Boane, situated about 35km outside the capital city, Maputo.

For much of his early years, Julio lived there with his family in a military compound – his father was an Officer during the war, so housing, schools, hospitals and shops were provided to the Officers’ families inside this base, situated alongside the military training camp. The outer perimeter of this compound was purposefully implanted with landmines to discourage the enemy from drawing near, thereby serving as protection for the inhabitants. One entrance fed into the base, manned with tight, armed security.

One day in the year 1988, Julio was walking to school in this compound, but the path was riddled with large water puddles as it had been raining quite hard. About 50 metres away from his house, he was confronted with a particularly large one which he had no choice but to jump over. A large flat rock was positioned in front of this puddle, so Julio, being a playful 8 year old, wanted to use this rock as a launch-pad to hurl himself over to the other side. The rock, however, was lying ontop of a landmine. Julio’s father, who was at home at the time, heard the explosion and ran out to the path, where he found Julio in the middle of this puddle. He’d lost both his legs immediately, and, even though he was treated quickly and well at the hospital, the medical staff were surprised he made it.

The only recollection Julio has of the accident is stepping onto the rock, and then being carried to the hospital in his father’s arms. He does not try to remember what he has forgotten – he has left the past behind him, and moved on with his life. The only thing that sometimes still perturbs him is why there was a landmine in this area. It should’ve, in fact, been the safest place to live during the war – one place that could guarantee freedom from landmines. Julio is well-known in his town as being the only victim of a landmine in this compound, and, although he has tried to investigate it through numerous ministries, organisations and people in authority, no-one seems to have a clue as to how it got there.

For the past 18 years, Julio has had prosthetic legs and walks using crutches. The health-care system in Mozambique provides free protheses and crutches to victims of landmines, but in Julio’s experience, they are of very low quality – his prostheses often broke after just a few months, while the crutches were made for one size only, which made them uncomfortable to walk with and sometimes dug into his hands and arms. Last year he asked a few people for donations, and when he’d raised enough, was able to purchase good quality iron from an Orthopaedic Clinic, which the hospital then used to put the prostheses together for him. He was also able to buy adjustable crutches made of more skin-friendly material.

Julio’s family is very poor. His father died during the war, and his mother has since been receiving the minimum grant from the State. Julio has been going to the local college, where the only diploma on offer is Agriculture, and although the course is provided free, he still has to scrape up funds for stationery, library time and other small services. He has been frustrated as it is not a subject for which he has a passion, and it is a field in which people with disabilities will have difficulty finding jobs upon completion. His dream is to study Information Technology. As a child, he loved playing football, but since his accident, is now a huge fan of computers!

He is an extremely intelligent man, and so eager to learn, grow and rise against the odds. He spends as much free time as he can reading and absorbing knowledge on the internet at his college. He has taught himself English, and is able to claim to be the only one of his family and group of friends who can. He says this is important for his future because Mozambique is becoming more and more integrated into the world where English is the universal language. He is also proactive in trying to help his situation: a few months ago he asked a friend for a small loan as capital to set up a street shop which now sells maize, rice, long-life milk, sweets and other basic goods. He uses the profits to alleviate a little of the financial burden his mother is under. He was hoping the shop might make enough so that he could start saving for an IT course – however, owing to the large quantity of similar shops in his area, the competition is tough and he only makes enough to live day by day.

There is a public university in Maputo which offers an IT degree, but only a small percentage of applicants are accepted out of the thousands that apply from all over Mozambique. The IT course which Julio would like to study is the Advanced International Diploma in Computer Engineering at a privately-owned, internationally-recognised and Microsoft-accredited learning institution in Maputo. It is a 1-year programme, and Graduates are able to enter the market-place as Desktop Administrators, Network Administrators and Database Specialists. The country is in high need of locals with this qualification and skill, evident in the newspapers’ classifieds. The course, however, is very expensive, so enrollment at the college is low.

Julio craves intellectual stimulation, and wants desperately to get a good education so that he help both himself and his family. His eyes light up at the mention of computers. His dream is to work in an office surrounded by them, and it is clear that, had he been born in a more developed country where people have options and student loans are easy to obtain, he might have started his qualification and career a long time ago.
Story written by Natasha Turton,Maputo,April 2007

The STRAB Festival

The 5th Subterranean Rhythm and Blues Experience, also known as STRAB, takes place from 24 - 27 May 2007 at Ponta Malongane, Southern Mozambique. A selection of South Africa’s premium rock bands will be playing for 3 consecutive nights.  The annual event brings the spirit of South African Rock and Blues to the dunes of Mozambique and will attract more than 800 dedicated SA rock fans.

This event has grown from humble beginnings in 2003 to a major music festival, mostly at the request from the bands themselves.  The incredible ambiance created by the tropical Mozambique background, combined with the unique sounds created by the performing bands, create an unsurpassed experience for the audience that is unique on the festival scene.

Every year the STRAB organisers decide on an assistance program to put back part of the earnings of STRAB into the people of Mozambique who has welcomed us in their country over the years.

For the next few years we have decided to support Sole of Africa, initiated by the Mineseeker foundation, assisting to clear areas in Mozambique of landmines, thereby making the land available for farming.  We are also supporting Julio, a landmine victim, financially to obtain a tertiary education in IT.

We are extremely proud to be part of this project.

For more information on STRAB, go to www.strab.co.za