Dear Friends of ASMU,

An update from our project is long overdue, and I apologize for keeping you waiting on our progress, so here are the latest, hottest, peri-peri flavored and voodoo donut-like sweet and exciting news coming all the way from Mozambique (as well as some not so good news...

Here are our end of year highlights: 

1.- We are halfway done with the construction process. Still, we have had major setbacks and are raising $1500 more, which will be match with $500… but the progress is still worth celebrating. More detailed outlines on the bottom part of this update.
2.-Our construction site was visited by Vanduzi District Government Officials which means we have their continued support despite any potential setbacks.
3.-Grant Award Alert! ! We have been awarded a $2000 USD grant from Northern California Peace Corps Association for water access, sanitation, and COVID-19 mitigation project. From December ‘21 to March ‘22 we will build a 1500L (396 gallons) water tower, a handwashing and sanitation station, make and distribute 700+ face masks, and partner with the Vanduzi Health Center to reach over 250 youth with COVID-19 and Cholera health prevention messages. You can read more about this project here. 

Here are our challenges…. 

As of September 15th construction has been halted due to a lack of funds. Baroso and the entire ASMU leadership team reflected on the challenges, looked at their expenses, and identified the issues that drove up the cost of the project, which we would like to share with you:

1.- Basic construction materials became more expensive, such as concrete, sand, and gravel due to supply challenges brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.  
2.- The lack of a storage facility at the construction site for concrete bags increased the cost of transportation from vendors to the worksite, while transportation costs in Vanduzi also went up due to gas prices.
3.- The contractor underestimated the size of the building and the number of basic construction materials needed, for which we did not have a cushion of cash to make up for.

With this said, we are extremely grateful for the support you have given us thus far in helping ASMU open new doors to its future. While ASMU explores paths to raise funds in Mozambique to continue with the construction, stateside we ask your support once more to fundraise $1500 USD towards the roof and doors, which will be  match with a $500 USD donation.

Unfortunately, the entire cost of the project increased significantly since our original goal of $2000 due to a change in the design of the building. While we identify new funding sources, we've made a new budget that accurately reflects the cost of finishing this project.

To see more pictures, look at our report card, budget, and expenses spreadsheets please go to www.friendsofasmu.com  and you will see how we spent each dollar donated.