Roof collapses in Our Lady of Amparo, Matola

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Mozambique: Roof collapses in Our Lady of Amparo, Matola
Mozambique: Roof collapses in Our Lady of Amparo, Matola

Africa-PressMozambique. From house of prayer to rubble. The roof of the church of Our Lady of Amparo in Matola collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning (July 24), all that was left, the debris of roofing sheets scattered across the floor. No-one was hurt in the incident.

On Wednesday morning (July 28), ‘O País’ found young people removing the rubble – workers at the company belonging of one the parishioners, who told us that this was a gesture in honour of the church he attends.

“The only thing I can say is that we are now trying to remove the rubble, and then we’ll see what’s next. I am a believer, and we came to help. We are believers, and we have to do what is incumbent on us, because the church belongs to all of us,” Eugénio Faria explained.

The incident, whose causes have not yet been determined, leaves believers without their place of worship and parish hall.

Parish representative Nélio Duvane said an attempt would be made to determine the cause of the collapse.

“We have to investigate what exactly happened. After that, we will have to find ways to rebuild the hall, and find a dignified place where we will pray, whenever possible,” Duvane said.

A report circulated on Monday (26 July) said that the church urgently needed rehabilitation.

“According to the evaluation and recommendation of the engineer who has been following our works, it will be necessary to reinforce the structure, introducing some new pillars and abandoning the covering of Luzalite sheets in favour of zinc ones,” it reads.

After meeting last Sunday, the parish concluded that, in the absence of private funding, the solution would have to be contributions from believers, and that the parish would shortly determine how such contributions would be handled.

The incident occurred at a time when the church was closed to the public, in line with the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the government.

By

WÍnass Macuvel

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