After years out of school, Catiza finds a new beginning

Palma, Cabo Delgado — When Catiza Momede arrived in the Eduardo Mondlane community with her mother and siblings, she brought with her a life spent away from school. At 15 years old, she had never entered a classroom. In the Pundanhar community, where she lived before, her days were spent on the farm, helping her family to produce food.

“I had never been to school,” says Catiza. “In Pundanhar, many of my friends also didn’t study, so I thought it was normal.”

Like many families in Palma, Catiza’s life changed because of insecurity caused by non-state armed groups. Neither Catiza nor her younger siblings went to school. Learning how to grow crops like peanuts, maize, beans, sweet potatoes, and others was more urgent than learning how to read and write.

Everything changed when she moved with her family from Pundanhar to the Eduardo Mondlane community. This brought new possibilities, not only for who Catiza is today, but especially for her future.

Catiza started attending the Multi-purpose Centre, which is a safe environment created for children and adolescents to learn, play, and feel protected. It is an initiative of Fundação Azul in partnership with UNICEF, funded by Sweden.

“When I arrived here, I saw that many children were going to school,” she says. “That’s when I started to feel the desire to also go to school and learn the things my friends knew.”

The facilitators at the Multi-purpose Centre quickly noticed that Catiza was not enrolled in school. Through conversations with her and her family, they explained the importance of education and the opportunities it can bring for her future. These were simple conversations, but they opened new perspectives and awakened possible dreams.

Today, Catiza is one of the children who has been referred to school.

“Now I am studying, and I don’t want to stop,” she says. “I want to learn and recover the time I lost.”

The Multi-purpose Centre has become one of her favorite places. There, she learns about her rights, makes friends, and finds an environment where she feels safe and supported. It is also a place where she begins to imagine a different future.

Catiza is one of many children who received student kits (composed of school supplies), an initiative by UNICEF and the District Education Services, funded by Sweden. This program aims to ensure that she and other children have the materials they need to continue learning and succeed.

For Catiza, this support does not change the past, but it opens doors to the future. Stories like hers show how, in challenging situations, combined efforts can make a difference.

By bringing together safe spaces, community awareness, and access to education, it is possible to help children recover lost opportunities and build new paths with dignity and hope.