I
am thrilled to introduce Henriqueta Maluana. Henriqueta has been a dear friend
since the first time I met her in 2000 on my first trip to Mozambique. She has a natural ability with people and has
a gift to reach across cultures and
become an instant friend.
I remember marveling at her ability and confidence. We were the same age, but no matter where we went, everyone looked up to her and listened to her with respect. She comes from a very humble background but that has never stopped her from being so full of happiness. The first time she saw a sleeping bag, she jumped right in and zipped herself up laughing all the while.
She has a pure heart, a strong will,
and a deep passion to help her country. Over
the years she has taught me many things, one of them being dedication and hard
work. Whether it is learning English, building her own
house from cinderblocks, teaching room after roomful the importance of
abstinence until marriage, taking classes to get her GED, or calling to check
up on our foster families, Henriqueta is dedicated and sees every job through
to the end. She is an essential part of
the Acenda team and we are grateful for all her hard work.
-- Annie Lewis
"I am from Maputo, Mozambique. My family and I currently live in Rexburg, Idaho. I am married to Armando who is attending BYU-Idaho. We have three kids, Nathan, Alice and Jeff. Armando has been in the USA since December 2008. Armando came to the USA searching for the better education and he left me and our 2-month-old son Nathan in Mozambique.
When he first came to the USA he did not know English, so he had to go through the English training program offered by Brigham Young University, English Language Center. In June 2009, Armando move to St. George, UT where our family was reunited. During our time in St. George, my husband attended Dixie State College and later he transferred to BYU-I.
I
have been volunteering for Acenda since 2008.
Before I came to the U.S. I was in charge of visiting and supervising
the foster families. These visits would include training families on how to
deal or interact with children who were in the transition stage from orphanages
to a household. I would also train
foster families on how to manage donations received by Acenda.
The most important moment to me when I did visits to foster families, was to see the joy and hope that radiated from the children because they knew that now had a future ahead of them as long as they continued doing what was right. Being an orphan or homeless in Mozambique is comparable to an abandoned animal that does not have a roof to hide his head. Homeless children would eat rotten food from trash cans and would take shower on the sewage canals if there is one in the community. The only end or hope for those children was death because they assumed that it would take the pain away from them.
Now that I live in the U.S. I am the U.S.
Coordinator for Acenda. This means that I
have the privilege of following up with the foster kids in the Acenda program
over the phone. I coordinate with the
Mozambican Coordinator, Iris Domingos.
Together our job is to track the children's progress. We communicate with the foster families and
make sure the children's needs are being met.
I enjoy giving my time to Acenda
because I know that I am helping my own people to change their own lives. Acenda is a blessing not just for the children
in our Acenda program, but for their foster families as well. I am convinced
that an education and a loving family is the key to success for these foster
children. I personally appreciate all the help provided for those kids."
Henriqueta
Maluana
What
can you do now?
