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History of Equip Mozambique

History of Equip Mozambique

Where we have been, where we are going

2014

new beginnings
Jon and Carla Reinagel had previously served as missionaries in Mozambique from 2008-2011, and after a few years in the States they heard God calling them to return. They formed a team of intercessors and helpers, registered the 501(c)3 nonprofit and developed a board of directors, recruited one other missionary, Janie Smith, to join their effort, and arrived in Beira, Mozambique in November of 2014. Their kids were 4 and 2 at the time.
2014
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2015

Restoring Hope to widows
Carla met Nora Binda, a Mozambican woman with a heart to help the widows in her community, and together they started the Restoring Hope sewing school.

It began with 3 ancient borrowed sewing machines, with Carla passing on her hobby of sewing to the first 7 women whom Nora found and wanted to help. Pictured here with one of the first students.

2016

Audio Bibles Launched
Jon started training some young Mozambicans in media and computer skills, which set the stage for our eventual tech team.

We noticed a huge need for the Word of God to be available in people's heart languages, in a relevant format, and with readily accessible means. We formed several new partnerships with other Bible translation and recording organizations and launched the first version of the Fountain of Life audio Bible app.
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2017-cropped

2017

Explosive growth
We started 2017 with 5 full-time employees, and we finished it with 18! The sewing school grew from 7 students to 48, the Fountain of Life app was launched in 17 new countries, and we started a new Christian library, called Biblioteca Beireano with a donation of 770 Portuguese books. We had to move our operations out of our tiny apartment and into a large office building. The Reinagel family also grew, as their third child was born in Mozambique in September.

2018

Greater depth and breadth
In 2018 every department grew deeper and wider, with more sewing school students, more app projects, and more books and patrons at the library. We also helped start a new Christian elementary school called Beira United.

This year we started developing the Conslutare health app.
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IDAI Aftermath - A view of the destroyed neighbouhood of Praia N

2019

help in the midst of disaster
March of 2019 brought the world's deadliest natural disaster of the year to our region, as the eye of the cyclone/hurricane Idai passed right over our city of Beira. Over 1,200 people died in the storm and the floods, and we spent much of the year helping people recover and rebuild from the ruins. The event shaped many of our future projects as we learned about some deeper infrastructure problems that led to the storm's widespread destruction.

2020

Solutions in the struggles
Like the rest of the world, we also felt the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was an opportunity for our team to find creative ways to create solutions in the midst of all the challenges. We launched the Consultare health app, the sewing school made over 20,000 masks, and two members of the Tech Team created a helpful app that allowed churches to reopen and comply with government regulations.
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2021

Leadership Growth
The Reinagel family left in February for what was supposed to be a short visit to the States, but ended up stuck for the entire year with visa problems due to the continued pandemic. In the meantime, the Mozambican leadership team grew significantly in confidence, capacity, and initiative as they led the team through the year.