Mozambique. World Factbook, 2006

Source: Wikipedia Commons

Mozambique gained independence from Portugal on 25 June 1975. Civil war followed soon after and lasted until 1992, resulting in the an estimated one million deaths and the displacement of millions more.

Mennonite involvement in Mozambique grew out of assistance given by Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (Mennonite Church) to Mozambican refugees in Tanzania during Mozambique's independence struggle of the 1960s. Occasional visits by MCC personnel, 1974-1975, led to the shipment of medicines in 1976 via the American Friends Service Committee. Representatives of the Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania and MCC established a relationship with Christian Council of Mozambique and local churches in 1978. Regular shipments of material aid were made to Rhodesian refugees in Mozambique before 1982, and 18,000 tons of cereals were shipped by MCC and distributed under the auspices of the Christian Council to flood, war, and drought victims in Mozambique, 1982-1986. Harold Wenger (Eastern Board missionary) in Swaziland developed contacts with African Independent Churches, 1978-1980.

In 2006 Mozambique had the following Anabaptist groups: the Igreja Evangelica Menonita em Moçambique, with 250 members in 5 congregations, and the Igreja Irmaos em Cristo de Mocambique with 1,785 members in 40 congregations.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 604. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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