Painted Wooden Trees

You have to be this tall to march in the parade

There are many topics on which Mozambicans feel differently about than Americans. Uses for grass (no lawns, only roofs), appropriate number of choruses in 3 verse national anthem (6), or acceptable places to relieve oneself (pathway in front of my house) come to mind. But up until today, I’ve always felt that finding a half painted tree attractive as the weirdest. Little did I know that one day, I would be converted to this belief.

In preparation for this Friday’s long planned and much talked about visit of the Governor, the Escuteiros de Alto Molócuè were asked to help with the ornamentation (direct translation) of the town. Along with the putting up of banners and trimming of trees, the town also typically paints the lower 2ft of each tree, pole, and stone white. Not only did I not see this as in any way “beautifying” the town, but I saw the continued use of a washable paint outdoors pointless. Of course, what seemed to me as the biggest waste of time, was assigned as the responsibility of the Escuteiros.

On the truck, scooping "paint"" out of a barrel

So after teaching most of my classes (we were interrupted by a Police lecture about traffic safety) and eating a quick lunch, I went over to the school basketball courts and met up with the few scouts waiting. Though I had thought that very few would show up, the prospect of being exempt from gym class for the day brought our numbers up to 14. Once the car arrived, we caught a ride to the Municipal Council building and met up with the workmen who we would be helping. After waiting around a while for the materials to show up, we split into teams and got to work.

Partnering up with Monis and Carlitos, we

Unlike Tom Sawyer, I pitched in, and didn't get

anything in trade for giving them the opportunity

began to cover the area between the parade route and our waist white. Carrying buckets of the chalky water, we used palm branches to slather the various trees, curbs, electrical poles, traffic poles, and sign posts. Seeing the scouts do this, I felt a little like Tom Sawyer convincing friends that painting a fence would be fun. Though we moved slowly at first, we picked up our rhythm as the buckets emptied. A couple hours later we had met up with the team working from the other direction and our job was done. Stepping back, I was stunned to see that the town did look fresher and cleaner, and that the parade route had a more uniform quality to it.

The 2nd team in-front of their painted wall

Though we felt like we had more paint on us than on the shrubbery, the scouts seemed to walk away with a sense of pride in a job well done. As a demonstration of the value of public service, I couldn't have asked for anything better.