STUDENTS and staff from a Warrington college have returned from an exhausting aid mission to Mozambique during which they spent two weeks building houses in impoverished communities.
The small team from Priestley College joined forces with the Habitat for Humanity charity and local tradesmen to build three brick houses to provide permanent shelter for some very special people.
The team was based near Chimoi in the north of the country, located between Beira and Zimbabwe.
One family the group built for included a mother caring for five children in surroundings ravaged by years of Civil War 
and in an area where the AIDS epidemic is also rife.
As well as building the houses, the Priestley group interacted with local villagers and visited an orphanage to give small gifts and toys to the children.
While the students had the opportunity to enjoy some of the normal tourist activities, the majority of their time was spent on-site contributing to the end goal.
At the end of the fortnight, the houses were handed over to their new owners in a moving and emotional ceremony, which will be a lasting lifetime memory for all those who took part.
Vicky Rutter, 18, who is studying History, Psychology and World Development said: “I really enjoyed interacting with the children and seeing the finished buildings at the end was especially rewarding.
“Some of the things I saw were remarkable including a boy who was only six looking after his four month old brother.
“The visit has given me some real life experience and opened my eyes to other cultures while at the same time making me very grateful for everything I have back home.”
Pictured: Top – happy villagers with Eleanor Owens and Jack Duggan. Right – students Nicola Saadati and Hannah Barton play with local children.
