The micro projects implemented by Asem have a double objective: to contribute to the self financing of the activities and to promote the training of the young. In particular, they have planned on a short term to build a mill and a bakery, to set up a small agricultural activity to produce vegetables and a training centre for the production of handicraft.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES to protect and exploit the local culture at the same time, helping the young to keep and to regain their roots. Among the activities, there are seminars about theatre, dance and music courses.

SPORT ACTIVITIES: every child and young is stimulated to practice at least one of the sports offered by ASEM. The most popular one is soccer, but they also have a basketball team and an athletics group that always rank first in the provincial championships.

SANITARY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE

The sanitary assistance – for the less serious health inconvenience – is provided by a nurse. For the more serious problems Asem relies on the local First Aid Centres or to the Central Hospital of Beira.

Drugs are very expensive because it is not easy to find them in hospitals where they should be given free of charge.

Psychological assistance is provided for by 12 operators who work full time in the two centres. Every operator oversees a limited number of children and is their reference point for any problem they may have. It is a task of educators to help the children in their daily life and to try to track down thier personal history through the information they can collect and what the children themselves tell in order to help them to regain balance, self-reliance and serenity.

FAMILIAR AND SOCIAL REINTEGRATION PROGRAMME.

In Africa the idea of enlarged family is much wider than in western countries. That is why in they talk of natural family and of enlarged family. Often the children who are living in the Centres have relatives that would gladly take care of them if only they had the economic means to do it.

ASEM tries to reconstruct the history of every child and help them to track down their family and evaluate the possibility of reinserting them in their original community. This process implies some preliminary visits to the family after which the child will be left free to decide.

After the reintegration Asem continues to economically support the child anyway. This gives the small children the opportunity   to continue attending the school and offers to the young the means to start an activity that will eventually grant them independence.

Furthermore Asem organises periodical visits to the families for two years after child reintegration, in order to assure that children are serene in their new environment. In this way not only the children are helped, but also the whole community to regain the social and cultural balance that was completely destroyed by the war.

Asem is committed to the recovery of the balance and the awareness of the possibilities and the responsibilities to take part in the reconstruction of Mozambique.