By Matt Skoufalos
Ultrasound technician Savannah Sossamon is a recent addition to the staff at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, but her commitment to caring for children extends beyond the workplace; beyond even her own community, to those in the under-resourced country of Mozambique.
Children comprise more than half the population of the south African coastal country, and they are severely under-resourced. Child marriage and violence towards children are prevalent, according to global humanitarian agency UNICEF, and children in Mozambique frequently do not complete more than a third-grade education.
The country is young and growing, but nonetheless benefits from the charity and contributions of those across the globe, including from Healing Place Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the church in which Sossamon was raised. When she returned there a few years back, Sossamon become more greatly involved with its outreach work, and began contemplating a mission trip. She heard Healing Place was planning a mission to Mozambique centered on International Children’s Day, and decided she wanted to join up.
“My two favorite things about my church is that it’s home – it’s a big church – and everybody knows everybody,” Sossamon said. “Their main mission is to serve your community, serve your city and then serve your world. My favorite thing is spreading the gospel all over the world.”
“In other countries, International Children’s Day is a special occasion for children to be celebrated for themselves,” Sossamon said. “We were there for 10 days, and the Saturday that we were there was the day that we did the children’s international festival.”
The trip began inauspiciously. After leaving from New Orleans, their group was stranded by a storm for 19 hours in the Dallas, Texas airport. They flew back to New Orleans, stayed overnight in a hotel, and then left the next day directly for Johannesburg. From there, after another overnight they traveled to Maputo, Mozambique. Ten strong, the group had checked at least half of the 26 bags they left Louisiana with, and three of the travelers didn’t get their luggage until they returned to the United States.
On their first day, the mission group performed outreach to local special needs populations. Many children in Mozambique face chronic malnutrition, stunted development, and economic deficits, but those born with developmental disabilities face additional social stigma.
“We in the church say we love you as you are, so we invited a bunch of special needs kids to come and play, heard their stories, did a message for them, and cooked a meal for them and their families,” Sossamon said.
The group also visited widows in the community, reaching out to deliver gifts, groceries and words of comfort. One of the women on the trip contributed $200 to the pastor to establish running water for a widow in the community, which Sossamon said can be a tremendous obstacle in a country where utility infrastructure is not standardized.
Most of the economic activity in the area where she stayed took place in local markets, which were accessible via dirt roads. Public transit systems comprised of white vans packed with two dozen or more people.
“Most people live in a one-room stone and brick building,” Sossamon said. “Air conditioning is not common; electricity is not all that common. Soap and deodorant is a luxury. Their stoves and sinks are outside; there’s no washer or dryer or shower.
“Education is a really big thing too,” she said. “The average dropout is third grade in their country; they’ll go to work, and the money comes home to mom and dad. The kids that become involved in the church will eventually get to a point where they’ll get back into school.”
Healing Place Church has four campuses in Mozambique; its main campus is electrified and air-conditioned. It houses a preschool with a feeding program that sometimes may provide one of the only meals those children enjoy for the day. It was in that spirit of charity that the missionaries hosted their International Children’s Day celebration.
“We had 2,800 kids come for that one day, and just talked to them about Jesus, played games and gave them a meal,” Sossamon said. “The whole day I was thinking about the verse where Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me.’ I appreciate all the children for who they are and what they are, and they’re valuable in their own little ways.”
“In America, it’s easy because the kids are taken care of and prioritized,” she said. “But in other countries, where it’s not about how wealthy can you get, and hustle and bustle, they love their family, they love their children, and they’re all going to take care of each other.”
“I think at the end of the day, the point was to spread the gospel, and get people to fall in love with Jesus and live for Him,” Sossamon said. “We would love to see them taken care of and safe through the night.”
Afterwards, the group held an appreciation day for its volunteers, with gifts to thank them for their coordination efforts, and a message to let them know that their work was valued. Before returning home, Sossamon and her fellow travelers got to visit Krueger National Park for a safari day.
Even upon returning home, Sossamon said, she thinks on her trip nearly daily.
“I started serving on the homeless team before I went to Africa, and just serving the homeless people alone will show you,” she said. “It’s definitely eye-opening. I’ve challenged myself to be grateful for what I have, but stepping into someone’s tent in the woods will put perspective on what you have. I came home and donated at least a third of my stuff because I didn’t even need it. There’s such a big need across the world, and I think when you see it, it makes your wheels start turning on how you can do more.” •
