VILLAGE WOMAN IN MOZAMBIQUE...IT'S NOT EASY BALANCING A LOAD ON YOUR HEAD WHILE WALKING ALONG A DIRT TRAIL!

We were driving along the toll road to Maputo and I spotted this village woman carrying a load of reeds that were probably going to be used for a thatched roof on a house. I tried to ask her for permission to take her photograph. Getting nowhere, I produced a 5-Rand South African coin and thrust it into her open hand. She responded with a broad smile and laughter that almost made the reeds balanced on her head shift and fall to the ground. It was a done deal! I reached out and shook her loose hand; she spun around, barely missing my head with the reeds. I'm sure I made her day...she certainly made mine! I could still hear her chuckling to herself over her good luck to "earn" almost a dollar for posing for an American with a Kodak digital camera on that hot, sunny evening on the road to Maputo.
Another image and more working women carrying heavy loads of household goods on their heads. The proud, sweating faces speak to the difficult life of people living in village areas throughout Mozambique. The average life span is thirty-nine years and the GNP is about a dollar a day. It was the same routine for me with this group of women...I tried to communicate with them, again without success. Of course, it helps if one has a little knowledge of Portuguese. I held up a 10-Rand note, motioned toward my camera, and they too broke out with relaxed smiles. The woman standing in the background was a bit uneasy about the whole thing, but the other two were willing participants. Once finished, I displayed the image on the digital camera and they gathered around me while giggling with delight over the colorful photograph. They too enjoyed the moment; we smiled and nodded good-day. And it was exactly that for everyone!




I decided to snap one more image of the most willing of the women. The face clearly gives evidence of the hard life mentioned above...she is a young woman aged beyond her years. The penetrating eyes of the woman along that toll road to Maputo could tell a story...I'm sure of that fact. Perhaps she has seen a relative or friend step on a land-mine. The terror of such an incident would age anyone anywhere. I'll never know what was going on in her mind as she stared into the lens of my camera, squinting to keep the bright sun away from her eyes. My mind drifted off to thoughts of how fortunate we are in the United States and even South Africa to be able to live lives that are dramatically different and better than such village people. And then again, maybe they are leading lives that are better than ours culturally and even spiritually. Who knows?





This photograph was taken just north of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The Costa da Sol is an unspoiled beach area that features tall cyprus, serene, pristine beaches, and colors that are feast for the imagination and a photographer's delight. This woman, wary of my intentions with the camera, walked away from my request. The load of sugar cane balanced on her head, while walking along the beautiful beach with her two children, made a worthwhile photo...despite her protestations.