Mozambique: theater against domestic violence

Only a few streets from the expensive restaurants and villas from the rich live the poor in Mozambique capital Maputo: the district of Luis Cabral consists primarily of close -standing huts and garbage. Right in the middle: the children's and youth center of »Meninos de Moçambique«.

Loud cries of children sound out of the yard, an exhibition entitled "Este Corpo é Meu!", In German: My body belongs to me! Around a hundred girls and boys come to the Meninos de Moçambique house every day, whose work is supported by terre des hommes . Some play, some receive tutoring lessons, many older people discuss. For example, about the question of how you can contain the domestic violence of girls and women that is widespread in the quarter. "The young people here in the center develop plays and perform them," says psychologist Camila Rodrigo. "You write texts for the local media and you are contact persons for the neighborhood if cases of abuse and violence are suspected there."

Once a week, Camila and her team also inquire in the police station for new cases in order to support the victims with the help of lawyers. Most of the time it is about sexual violence on girls, sometimes about abandoned or neglected children. Traditional male claims for power, often in connection with alcohol, play a significant role.

Mauricio is 16 and has been going to the center since he was 14. He knows how important it is that girls and boys face the grievances in their poor district together: "Here in Luis Cabral there is a lot of violence," he says. “But I think it has become less since we were active. I am in the theater group. We have listed several pieces. People should understand: violence is not good! Yes, a lot has changed. "