When 16-year-old Lily’s house was flooded in the early hours of the morning, she fled with her family to a nearby school, which was converted into an evacuation centre. Many of the family’s possessions were washed away and the walls of one of their buildings were knocked down. Many crops and seeds were lost from the family farm, making it difficult for the family to find food in the flood’s aftermath.
While she was at the evacuation centre, Lily joined Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space and received training in handwashing and water treatment from the Emergency Health Unit. Lily is passionate about teaching her sister and other children in her community how to wash their hands to prevent infectious disease such as cholera.
Gaza Province, Mozambique — When the floodwaters rose in the early hours of the morning in late December 2025, sixteen-year-old Lily and her family had to run for their lives. Today, in the aftermath of the worst flooding southern Mozambique has seen in decades, Lily has transformed her survival story into a mission of health and hope for her entire community.
The Crisis in Mozambique
- The Disaster: Torrential rainfall in late December 2025 and January 2026 caused severe, widespread flooding across southern and central Mozambique.
- The Impact: Over
$720,000$ people have been affected, more than half of whom are children. - The Risk: Contaminated water sources, destroyed sanitation infrastructure, and overcrowded evacuation centers have left communities highly vulnerable to waterborne disease outbreaks, including cholera.
- Our Response: Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit (EHU) is on the ground, establishing Child Friendly Spaces (CFS), treating water, and training hygiene promoters to reach over
$85,000$ people with disease-prevention information.
Fleeing the Floodwaters
For Lily’s father, Samuel (
"When the water flooded, it flooded the house. We've been here for so long, but it's never flooded the house like this. We lost everything." — Samuel, Lily’s father
The family of eight fled to a nearby local school that had been quickly converted into an emergency evacuation center. In the chaos, almost all of their possessions were swept away. The bathroom and outdoor structures Samuel had built from zinc and pillars collapsed under the force of the water.
More than a disaster of brick and mortar, the floods destroyed the family’s future security.
"I go to the farm, but when it flooded, I lost many seeds," Samuel explains. "You wouldn't normally find me in this situation because whenever we plant lettuce, we go to the market and sell it. We feed ourselves from the farm instead of waiting to be paid from odd jobs. Now, it takes a lot of effort to make a single meal. There is no curry, only local fruit. There is nothing."
For Lily, the disruption meant an abrupt end to the routine she loved: waking up, cleaning the house, walking to school with her friends, and dreaming of her future.
"I missed going to school to learn," Lily says. "I like school because I learn things that will help me find a job one day. I want to be a teacher."
Finding a Safe Haven
At the evacuation center, amidst the crowding and uncertainty of living alongside dozens of displaced families, Save the Children established a Child Friendly Space (CFS). Facilitated by local community members like Alfredo (
For children processing profound trauma, the CFS offers more than just play; it offers a path to healing.
"The floods affected the kids when they realized their houses were full of water and had collapsed," says Alfredo. "Some of them weren't used to staying in crowded places and were afraid to express themselves. It wasn't easy to live here. We were suffering.
The Child Friendly Space helps them overcome traumatic events. When they arrive, we give them paper to draw on to help them forget about everything that's happening. They forget everything and don't hold on to the anger."
At the CFS, Lily and other children received emotional support, played sports, and continued their basic education so they wouldn't fall behind while formal schools remained closed.
"It was helpful because me and the others did not forget what we learnt at school," says Lily. "We studied. We were taught the alphabet, reading, singing, and they taught us how to play football."
Seeing his daughter engage with the community gave Samuel a rare moment of peace:
"One day I noticed that she was playing football with Otilia [a Save the Children staff member]. My soul was at peace because I could see my daughter was playing good games."
From Survivor to Child Champion
With the floodwaters mixing directly with open wells and sanitation facilities destroyed, the threat of deadly waterborne illnesses like cholera loomed large.
To combat this, Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit launched an immediate public health and water treatment intervention. They trained health promoters and children like Lily to become Handwashing and Hygiene Child Champions.
Equipped with life-saving skills, Lily didn’t just learn how to protect herself—she began teaching her
"Our water from the well was mixed with the water from the floods. Since many people died in the water, we shouldn't drink that water and we should treat it," Lily says. "I'm happy because I wash my hands. I'm happy because I know how to measure water and add Certeze to prevent catching diseases."
Lily's Guide to Water Purification
When the local wells are contaminated, Lily leads her family in purifying water using Certeze (water treatment tablets) provided by Save the Children:
A Community Transformed
The impact of Lily’s training has rippled through her entire household. Her father, Samuel, admits that hygiene practices were not always a priority before the disaster.
"It is good because before we never used to wash our hands. We were not aware of the risks. Even now I might touch a seat and eat something without washing my hands. But then I might get a stomach ache and not realize what the problem was. It is helpful to have clean hands because you live a healthy life."
Alfredo, the CFS facilitator, has witnessed a complete shift in the community's attitude toward health and children's education.
"When I see the children who I have taught to wash their hands, I feel good. Their parents realize that we're not just playing with the children at the Child Friendly Space, but they're learning something. The children teach their parents. They see us in a positive way because we're teaching their children."
The Road Ahead and Ongoing Fears
While the initial floodwaters have receded, the crisis is far from over. Heavy rains continue to fall, reservoirs remain full, and families live in constant fear of another evacuation.
For Samuel, the dilemma of where to keep his family safe is agonizing.
*"The water is rising again but I don't want to take them to live in a tent because I'm worried about them catching diseases, and I don't have money to take them to the hospital. When we're sleeping away from the house, mosquitoes can bite you a lot, and even snakes.
It is very difficult to build a house, but it can be destroyed very easily. I would like to move, but I don't have anything to start again."*
Despite the hardships, Samuel holds fast to his hopes for Lily’s future:
"My wish for my daughter Lily—I would like to ask from God to find a good path for her so I can see what happens to her while I'm still alive. I wish good things for my daughter."
Our Emergency Health Unit (EHU)
Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit (EHU) deploys rapidly to natural hazards, conflicts, and health crises worldwide to deliver life-saving healthcare, clean water, and sanitation.
In the Gaza Province of Mozambique, our teams of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) specialists, health professionals, and logisticians are working around the clock. By training local facilitators, setting up safe spaces, and distributing critical water purification kits, we ensure that children like Lily are not only protected but are empowered to lead their communities through recovery.
Over the past decade, the EHU has responded to some of the world's most complex emergencies, including conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, and Ethiopia, as well as health and climate crises in Kenya, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How You Can Help
You can support children like Lily and help us respond instantly when disaster strikes. Your donation helps us provide:
- Clean, safe drinking water and hygiene kits to families displaced by flooding.
- Child Friendly Spaces where children can learn, play, and heal from trauma.
- Emergency health services to prevent the spread of deadly outbreaks like cholera.
[Donate Now to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund]
- Interviews conducted by: Sacha Myers (Gaza Province, Mozambique)
- Date of interviews: March 27, 2026
- Story edited by: Kate Stanworth
- Approved by: Olivia Jagot (Director of Programme Quality and Development, Save the Children International) and Rachel Pounds (Head of Emergency Health Unit)
- Source Document: CH11597371 (1).pdf
