“Yes, we are in trouble again,” says Mr Tseco. “The Chokwe, Guija, Chibuto and Xai-Xai districts in Gaza province have been badly affected, with some parts four metres under water. Central Mozambique is also being threatened now, as heavy rains are causing the Zambezi river to overflow.

“These are the worst floods since 2000 and tens of thousands of people have fled to higher ground to shelter in 26 accommodation centres. One of our staff members, Alberto, was stuck on the roof of his house with his wife and four children for two days, waiting for help. In the end he had to swim off his roof, carrying each child in a plastic basin to reach the main road where boats were helping people.

“When I phoned him he was weeping, saying it was the second time he’d lost all his belongings in floods. To assess the situation, and see how Alberto was doing, I drove to the village of Xihakelane, where more than 70,000 people are sheltering.

Lost literally everything

“I met a pastor, Judas Mathe, who said that he and his family had been unable to take anything from their house as they fled. He was just grateful that his wife had given birth to their baby son two weeks before the floods came. ‘Imagine if she was in labour the day we had to run away,’ he said.

“Many of the people sheltering in the centres have no food, water or spare clothes. The National Disaster Management Institute, which has set up temporary shelters, is saying that tents are not arriving quickly enough for the number of people who need them. Most people are living under the trees.

More rain forecast

People trying to rescue some of their possessions.

“Although water levels are falling in the Limpopo valley, people are being warned not to return home because more heavy rain is forecast. Despite this, some people have gone back to Chokwe and Guija to see what has become of their homes. Some houses have literally been washed away, while others are still standing but all their contents have been destroyed.

“Many thousands of Bibles have been lost in these floods and we are hoping to be able to replace them, as well as help deliver the material aid that is so desperately needed. It is at times like these that people need the hope and comfort of God’s Word more than ever. Please pray for the people of Mozambique.”

Bible Society Australia is helping improve literacy in Mozambique in 2013, using the Bible as a teaching tool. To find out more about this project and how you can help, click here.

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