The Challenges of a New Life

A new chapter had opened in the history of Jehovah’s people in Mozambique. The Malawian brothers in the area had organized themselves into eight villages. They had gained much experience in adapting to a new life-style in the bush and had developed their skills in building houses, Kingdom Halls, and even Assembly Halls. Those who did not have prior experience in agriculture also learned much about that sort of work. Many of the Mozambicans, never having planted a machamba (cultivated field), were about to experience for the first time hard work in the fields. In the first few months, the new arrivals benefited from the loving hospitality of their Malawian brothers, who took them into their homes and shared their food. But now it was time for the Mozambican brothers to build their own villages.

That was not an easy task. The rainy season had begun, and the region was generously blessed with water from heaven as never before. However, when the Munduzi River, which cut through the center of the camp, overflowed in a region normally afflicted with drought, the brothers saw this as a symbol of how Jehovah would care for them. Indeed, in the 12 years that followed, the river did not once dry up as it had done before. On the other hand, “the muddy, slippery terrain, caused naturally by the rainy weather, made for an additional challenge to former city dwellers,” as Brother Muthemba recalls. Furthermore, it was not easy for the women to cross the river while balancing themselves on improvised bridges that were nothing more than tree trunks. “For men who were accustomed to offices, our challenge was to go into the dense woods and cut down trees to build our houses,” recalls Xavier Dengo. These conditions turned out to be a test for which some were not prepared.

Organization in the Villages

Nine Mozambican villages sprang up parallel to and facing the existing eight Malawian villages. These two groups, united by the “pure language,” would live together for the next 12 years. (Zeph. 3:9) The area of each of the villages was divided into blocks, lined by well-maintained streets, each block encompassing eight plots of approximately 80 feet by 110 feet [25 m by 35 m]. The congregations were grouped according to blocks. After the ban had been proclaimed in the camps, they could not build conspicuous Kingdom Halls. So, instead, they built special L-shaped houses to serve the purpose. A widow or other single person would live in these to give the appearance that they were residences. Then, when meetings were held, the speaker would stand at the corner of the “L” and thus be able to face the audience on either side.

Around the perimeter of each of the villages were its machambas. Each congregation also tended a “congregational machamba,” which all shared in cultivating as their contribution toward congregational needs.

The size of each village varied according to the population. A 1979 census showed that Mozambican Village No. 7 was the smallest, with just 122 publishers and 2 congregations, while No. 9, the largest and most distant, had 1,228 publishers and 34 congregations. The entire camp had 11 circuits. This whole camp, composed of the Malawian and Mozambican villages and dependent areas, came to be known to the brothers as the Circle of Carico. The last census we have on record is that of 1981, when the population of the entire Circle of Carico was 22,529, of which 9,000 were active publishers. Later there was further growth. (The then president, Samora Machel, declared the population to be 40,000, according to the brochure Consolidemos Aquilo Que nos Une [Consolidating That Which Unites Us], pages 38-9.)