COMMUNITY
A star shines
When Celina Cossa received the award,
she stated that: “One day the true history
of humanity will be written, and it will be
a history of struggle and sacrifi ce, of war
and peace, of failure and success. It will
be a history of the efforts and sweat of
anonymous men and women associated with
over Mozambique
organizations such as the General Union of
Cooperatives of Maputo. It will be a history
of the efforts and support of anonymous
men and women associated with numerous
nongovernmental organizations such as
The Hunger Project. It will be a history of
activities and debates about land
men and women from different countries
issues, good prices and market day.
and continents that together have grabbed the
In addition, when there is a disease
moment and built a better world than the one
like cholera, malaria etc, Radio Voz
in which they lived.”
Coop helps the Government to alert
the neighboring communities.
In 2006, Celina also received the African
Green Revolution Yara Prize from the Yara
The Voz Coop radio station was
Foundation, jointly with Ms. Fidelis Wainaina
established in July 2002 with
from Kenya for their grassroots work with
fi nancial support from UNESCO.
small-scale farmers in Mozambique and
UGC is currently running the radio
Kenya. The Yara Foundation recognized their
with its own resources.
contribution to building a sustainable self-
suffi cient food supply in some of the poorest
Celina Cossa
There is also a department of
communities in Africa. Yara is the leading
Production Assistance to help
global supplier of mineral fertilizers and the
I
n 1980, one courageous and visionary
with all aspect of chicken breeding, such as
only international fertilizer producer with a
Mozambican woman started her very
incubation, feed production, slaughterhouse
signifi cant presence in Africa.
own revolution, at a time when the war
ect, as well as giving assistance with the
in Mozambique was still 12 years away from
cashew nut production, fl oriculture and other
Over the years, Celina Cossa has participated
reaching a much needed end.
activities including carpentry, mechanic and
in many courses, seminars and conferences.
hydraulic workshops.
She has lectured in several African nations, as
In the middle of the chaos, Celina Cossa, a
well as Europe and the United States, and has
former primary school teacher, had a vision
Beside these hands-on services to ensure
held various managerial posts in her country
to build a sustainable food supply for her war
maximum success and empowerment for the
and within her organisation.
torn country and at the same time, empower
cooperative members, UGC supports also
the poor peasants. This led her to found the
the developments of various NGOs, such as
Making poverty history is the laudable cause
General Union of Co-operatives of Maputo
health centres, training and adult education for
to which Celina Cossa has dedicated the last
(UGC), of which she has regularly been elected
farmers, secondary school, vocational training
27 years of her life. Poverty in Mozambique
President since the beginning.
and emergency relief work. And of course,
is not history yet, but Celina Cossa, fl anked
UGC provides a life-changing credit facility
now by thousands of women and men, has
Celina started with only a few cooperative
for members to invest in their aviculture
defi nitely turned the tide towards a brighter
groups of women growing vegetables to sell in
and agricultural initiatives, as well as micro-
and more hopeful future. Women have now
Maputo, the Mozambican capital, in order to
enterprises.
come to realise that they are capable of great
generate extra income for their families.
achievements and that they can make a positive
Initially, the unemployed women who formed
Celina Cossa’s efforts did not go unnoticed
difference in their own lives and the welfare of
the core of the group, had low levels of
by the international community. In 1998, she
their families. Since the foundation of UGC,
schooling and were lacking technical training.
received the highly acclaimed Africa Prize for
the daughters and sons of UGC members have
After undergoing training with UGC, they
Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger,
now become accountants, bankers, teachers
improved their technical capacity, level of
initiated by the Hunger Project. Founded in
and politicians. They are the new leaders on
organization and management skills and started
1977, the Hunger Project empowers people
the national stage, a direct result of Celina’s
to see their condition improve. From the initial
in developing countries to create lasting,
vision.
six cooperatives, the number grew to 185 over
self-reliant solutions to challenges of health,
a wide geographical area, comprising over fi ve
education, nutrition, incomes and women’s
And what better example and inspiration
and a half thousand members, 95% of whom
empowerment.
can the Mozambican people have than a star
are women. The activities expanded from
named Celina Cossa and a handful
growing vegetables to poultry production,
of other Mozambican greats such as
a cashew nut processing plant, pottery and
former President Joachim Chissano,
micro-fi nance.
a champion for peace, reconciliation
and reconstruction, Graça Machel, a
As UGC grew, it saw the need to create further
staunch advocate of children’s rights
institutions in order to give a comprehensive
and of course, current Prime Minister
support network to its service users.
Louisa Diogo?
Members of the cooperative have now access
to a department of Commercialization and
by Isabelle Gravenstein
P
Marketing, to help market their produce. The
department also created a community radio,
named radio Voz Coop that Promote cultural
www.thepromota.co.uk THEPROMOTA | 33
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