Synergos in Mozambique
Population: 21.7 million
Avg. annual income: $320
UN Human Development Index rating: 168 out of 177
Life expectancy at birth: 41.2 years
Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000
Adult HIV/AIDS prevalence: 12.5%
A key focus of Synergos’ in Southern Africa is strengthening local capacity to meet the needs of children in distress. These are children who have been orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS, and made vulnerable to other issues such as under-nutrition, homelessness, severe poverty and discrimination.
To this end, our work includes a Southern Africa Regional Initiative for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, in partnership with the Foundation for Community Development of Mozambique and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. This pilot program was inspired and supported by Synergos board member Kim Samuel Johnson. It is working with two rural communities in Mozambique and South Africa to provide resources, build capacity for quality care, and reduce the isolation and social exclusion of vulnerable children and their caregivers. With a focus on how to unlock the strengths of traditional culture and build on factors of resilience in communities, the initiative aims to document and advance a more Africa-rooted model of sustainable care and support for children.
A key partner in this work is the Foundation for Community Development (FDC -- Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Communidade). Synergos helped a group of Mozambican leaders establish the FDC in 1994.
