The Mozambique Poo Tour
The idea of The Mozambique Poo Tour grew out of an earlier project when a group of musicians, including myself, travelled overland across nine African countries playing gigs along the way. In each country we met with local musicians and were invited to villages and townships to share music. We experienced the power of music as a way of connecting with the local people.
The idea to do another tour incubated for over a decade. In 2003, galvanized by the startling content of the WaterAid and TearFund Human Waste Report we approached WaterAid with a proposal to tour Mozambique with a band and use music to facilitate access to local communities and make an awareness-raising documentary film about sanitation problems and solutions.
The project was met with enthusiasm and a tour to launch a national "wash your hands for good health" campaign was organized; we were to play alongside the hugely successful Mozambican band Massukos. We had just three months to assemble a team of musicians, film-makers and a presenter and before we knew it we were on the road travelling miles over bumpy, dusty roads through the Mozambican bush. We played gigs in local communities to people who had never set eyes on a tuba, let alone a band of musicians arriving out of nowhere to perform for them!
Despite the often atrocious conditions in which they lived, the spirited people of Mozambique showed incredible warmth, generosity and hospitality towards us. It became clear to us that communities were motivated to improve their situation with the help of local developmental agencies such as Estamos. It was, however, also glaringly apparent that if the objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals on water and sanitation are ever to be achieved, it is essential for the international community to give their whole-hearted support.
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