As part of a fundraiser for the construction of a school for CERCI, National Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Maladjusted Citizens, a non-profit organization that operates a school for children and young adults with developmental disabilities, MPDC (Maputo Port Development Company) and CFM (Mozambique Ports and Railways National Company) promoted a gala Opera Night. The gala took place on December 5th, at the Restaurant Doca Rio (in the Maputo Port Passenger Terminal).
The gala itself was unprecedented in Mozambique because it was the presentation of Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle” opera excerpts, never before presented in Mozambique.
Currently CERCI, whose funds come from monthly fees and sporadic donations, operates in a rented house in non-adequate conditions for children with mental and developmental disabilities. The money raised through this initiative – a total of $177 500 dollars, plus a fully equiped library and internet – will now allow the construction of adequate facilities and purchase of equipment. The main goal of CERCI, which is based on a joint working model among parents of children with developmental disabilities and medical and education professionals, is to promote equality and the inclusion of these children, providing them with knowledge that will enable them to gain relative independence and later integration into Mozambican society.
The cause has won the sympathy of several large Mozambican companies (banks, mobile phone companies, construction companies and logistics and shipping) who promptly made their contribution to the construction of a school for these children.
