Diary Entry 15th July 2024

My name is Diarmuid Murphy. I am a 20 year old from West Cork student studying pharmaceutical and industrial chemistry at UL. I am writing this blog from the Young Africa campus in Beira Mozambique, where I have been volunteering with SERVE since July 1st.

In this short piece, I will give an insight into the lives of three students that I have been lucky to meet at the daily conversational English lessons at Young Africa Beira. 

Nordito Mangula, Francisco Marcos and Durao Yove, all aged between 18 and 20, were very obliging when I proposed the idea of writing a blog based on their lives. These students have exceptional English. They explained to me that they have been studying the language since they were 6 years old, when they started primary school.

They all completed secondary school last year, where they sat an exam similar to the leaving cert in Ireland, and are now taking a year out to further improve their English skills before continuing to university. 

Nordito and Durao wish to become secondary school teachers as they are both very passionate about education. To achieve this goal, they will complete a 4 year degree. Francisco aspires to become a doctor, so that he can take care of his parents in the future. This will require 7 years of study at a university in Maputo, the capital city of  Mozambique.

College fees in Mozambique appear relatively inexpensive from an Irish perspective, at 45,000 Meticais per year (642 Euro). I appreciate, however, that even at this cost, third level education is still highly inaccessible to most. 

As the conversation progressed, I began to notice more and more similarities between their lives and mine. Sport and music quickly became the main topics of discussion, with names like Christian’s Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ed Sheeran and Post Malone featuring heavily. I was informed that learning to drive requires a similar process to that in Ireland.

Religion is prominent in the lives of young people, with Francisco being a member of the choir at his local church. All three of the students come from similar family backgrounds to my own. They live in modest houses, they have between 2 and 5 siblings and their parents have very normal jobs; accountant, policeman, nurse etc. 

Did I expect their lives to be vastly different to my own? I guess I did. Whether this was because of stereotypes or biases I unknowingly had prior to writing this blog, or just because of lack of education, I’m not sure. I am now aware that even though we come from opposite sides of the globe, our interests, our fears and our dreams could not be more similar. 

I am very grateful to Nordito, Francisco and Durao for taking the time to help me with my blog. I am also grateful to SERVE for giving me this amazing opportunity to work in solidarity with my fellow volunteers to make a positive impact on the lives of others.