Where We Serve

Maputo, Mozambique, a capitol city in the Sub-Saharan African continent. As the capitol, Maputo draws a large portion of Mozambique’s population from the rural areas that extend far to the north of the city. Many Mozambicans arrive in Maputo with the dream of the comfort and jobs that a large bustling city pretends to offer.

For Ian, this means many young men and young boys leave their family homes in rural and undeveloped areas hoping for an exciting life of adventure and wealth in Mozambique’s capitol. They arrive with little or nothing in their pocket and soon find the intractable poverty of life on the street sucks them into its grasp. Maputo is a magnet for these young men and, unfortunately, it rarely lets go. Ian’s efforts in reuniting boys with their families often lead him to driving or accompanying boys many hundreds of miles north of Maputo to find a family they left long ago and whom they have grown to miss dearly. But always he returns to Maputo to continue serving and seeking those who may have been lost in its back alleys and dark corners.

As the capitol, Maputo also has the best medical treatment available in the country. For the Hellers, this means that, whenever anyone, anywhere in the country is diagnosed with cancer, they are eventually led to Maputo. The central government hospital is the only place for a Mozambican to receive treatment in his or her journey of cancer. Jon and Layne meet Mozambicans from all across the large country who have journeyed far and, often, for many months or years, finally to arrive in the central hospital in Maputo. It is these men, women and even young children that the Hellers target to bring into Casa Ahavá.

From Maputo’s magnetism for disenfranchised young men and boys to its dim promise to treat a deadly cancer, it is a city filled with those who need a depth of love that few other locations can match.