Who is behind EMOCHI?  

Egas Monis Chichava, founder and president of EMOCHI, was born and raised in Licilo, Mozambique. For him, founding EMOCHI is a matter of the heart. He has not only been able to fulfil his dream of founding a day care centre and preschool in his home country but also give back to the community what he lacked in his childhood. "In my childhood and unfortunately until the foundation of EMOCHI, there was no day care centre and preschool in Licilo. At that time, it was difficult for parents to pursue their work due to the lack of childcare. Furthermore, it was difficult for us children to follow the classes, as we neither had the necessary knowledge of Portuguese, nor did the teachers have the capacity to deal with individual learning difficulties. Sometimes one class had up to 100 children, because there was a shortage of schools in this region." Hence, it is particularly important to Egas that the children receive a bilingual education at the EMOCHI institution, where they learn Portuguese and English, and that small groups are maintained. 

 

The importance of overcoming language barriers and preparing for cultural encounters was something Egas experienced for himself when he emigrated to Germany. 

 

In 1981, he came to Germany as a contract worker to complete an apprenticeship in the GDR. Without any knowledge of German, he had to start training in agricultural economics after a short period of acclimatisation. "The first months in the GDR were truly hard. Not only the cultural difference made it difficult for us to integrate, but above all the lack of language skills. We were provided with an interpreter for the first few months, so we were able to get by at first. However, after three months we were largely on our own."

 

The first eight years, Egas lived in a residential home in Ziegendorf together with his Mozambican colleagues, who also completed the training. Egas describes the time in the residential home as very formative, but above all enriching. Close friendships developed that still exist today. "We were in the residential home without our families and our usual environment. We only had each other and that naturally brought us closer. We had a lot of fun and stayed in close contact even after the training and the time in the residential home."

 

Although Egas has since lived in Germany and did not go back to Mozambique after his training, his heart still beats for his home country, which he visits several times a year. "Mozambique is and remains my home. Even after more than 30 years in Germany. It's just this indescribable feeling when you land in Maputo, leave the airport and soak up the country with all your senses.“

 

In addition to his commitment to the Protestant church, Egas feels that he now wants to build something in the community by means of the EMOCHI institution. But in particular, he wants to give the children a future through holistic early education and preparation for school. In addition, they should be able to experience the enriching cohesion of a community, as Egas experienced in the Ziegendorf residential home.