Recently we found ourselves in Mozambique. We were being housed in a catholic mission and we were there to determine the needs of the children in the area. One morning we determined to take a walk out of the village. As we proceeded up the trail we encountered many people going in the opposite direction carrying rakes and hoes over their shoulders. Most of the people were women, some with babies on their backs. After a while we determined to turn around and follow the crowd. After walking for a while we saw that the people were all gathering in a clearing. In Mozambique they speak Portuguese so it was hard to communicate with them. I finally found a person who understood English and I asked him why all the people had gathered together. He responded that they were all starving and would come to find work in the fields. They had walked from their villages in the hope of finding work for the day.

As we watched this scene a pick-up truck would come into the clearing and as many people as is possible would climb into the back. They would then head for the fields. At the end of the day, the truck would bring them back and as they got out of the truck each would receive one cob of corn as their day’s wage. Those not so fortunate to get in a truck would return to their village empty handed and come back the next day hoping to get work.