(Abridged version of an article published in the newspaper Notícias, published in Maputo, December 3, 2025 edition)
More than 15,000 children in six districts of Sofala province, surrounding Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique, are leaving behind classes under trees and in makeshift classrooms, thanks to the construction of new resilient schools that combine the efforts of local authorities, community involvement, international support, and environmental preservation, restoring dignity to education and hope for the future.
The Mapangapanga Complete Primary School in Nhautchendje, in the Gorongosa mountains, is a living example of this transformation. Built with certified wood, fired clay bricks, and labor from the community itself, it now offers six classrooms, an administrative block, two semi-detached houses for teachers, and restrooms. A space that restores dignity to education and hope for the future.
Mapangapanga Complete Primary School currently has 5 teachers and 523 students, 167 of whom are female. One of the students is Aida Júlio, just 7 years old, a face of equal opportunities between boys and girls in access to education. “I don’t like to miss classes,” says little Aida. She and her classmates – who live within a 13-kilometer radius – can finally learn in safer and more inspiring conditions.
“The quality we have seen in this set of schools with mixed materials in this project exceeds our expectations and represents a great evolution compared to past projects,” said architect Jorge Jorge, from the Ministry of Education and Culture, attached to the Directorate of School Infrastructure and Equipment.
The construction of the schools using mixed materials followed the guidelines on resilience to natural hazards, environmental and social safeguards for school buildings, established by Decree 122/2021, jointly approved by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources.
The Mapangapanga Complete Primary School is part of a batch of 26 schools made of mixed materials, recently completed, in the Sustainable Development Zone around Gorongosa National Park. The districts of Gorongosa, Nhamatanda, Cheringoma, Muanza, Dondo and Marínguè are part of the Sustainable Development Zone of Gorongosa National Park.
The districts of Gorongosa, Nhamatanda, Cheringoma, Muanza, Dondo, and Marínguè are part of the Sustainable Development Zone of Gorongosa National Park.
This initiative is part of the project entitled “Resilient Infrastructures,” funded by the United States Government and implemented by the Gorongosa Restoration Project, with technical assistance from UN-Habitat.
Schools like the one in Mapangapanga, in the Gorongosa mountains, are proof that it is possible to reconcile biodiversity preservation with human development, focusing on sustainable solutions that strengthen the local economy and value culture.