Silvestre Chivite, 78, says there’s no farming work to do anymore in Changanine, in Mozambique’s Chibuto district. The father of four, blind since 2010, says he dreams of the day when the rains will come, his village will plant new seeds, and live off the land once again.
“ We used to live off what we grow. We used to plant corn, beans, watermelon and pumpkin.
Now we are forced to eat leaves and bitter seeds from a tree in our region. My wife is the one who gets the seeds, because she’s the one who sees. I could go, but I wouldn’t see a thing. The name is “Nulu”. They are almond-like seeds. We only eat the seeds because we are hungry. They’re not nutritious, or even edible, nor do we feel full after eating them. It is just to survive. The only reason we started eating those seeds was because we felt we were dying of hunger.
People get accustomed to being hungry, but many get sick because of it. Some pass out and the ones that have something to give, they offer it to help the sick recover.
With no farming to do, our work now is to seek water. We get water in the low areas. We dig for water-wells there at dawn, and if we find water, then we drink.
But now with the Red Cross, it will get better. We will keep the seeds from the Red Cross and when it rains, we will plant them. That will help us a lot, more than a lot. Because then, we live off what we grow.
When it rains, hunger is very far away from us.”
