In the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique, some 800,000 civilians – mostly women and children – are displaced from their homes due to attacks by an insurgent group affiliated with the Islamic State. With your help, Spirit of America is working with the US Embassy to rebuild schools and other key buildings in two towns and making them a better, safer place to live.

In March 2021, over 200 insurgents attacked Palma, a town near the border with Tanzania, on the Swahili Coast. The attack lasted four days, killing dozens of civilians, destroying much of the town’s infrastructure, and displacing half of its residents. Widely covered in the international press, the attack was a key factor in the suspension of work on a liquefied natural gas project, the largest foreign investment in Africa.

After security forces regained control of key areas of Cabo Delgado, the US Embassy in Mozambique identified reconstruction assistance as an urgent need in the region, which is difficult for humanitarian organizations to reach.

With our partner, ALPS Resilience, and US Embassy support, Spirit of America has rehabilitated two key schools in Palma: EPC Unidade School and EPC Unidade Dois School. Together, the schools serve 450 primary and secondary school students. Construction materials were procured locally, and locals were hired on a cash-for-work basis to conduct the rehabilitation work. One of the school buildings frequently serves as a community center.

Spirit of America is also rehabilitating key government buildings in Mocimboa Da Praia, a once-bustling port city only a few miles away, which until recently was the headquarters of the Islamic State insurgency. Spirit of America is the only international organization working in Mocimboa Da Praia.