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200,000 Weapons Destroyed Under Arms Collection Project in Mozambique
Some 200,000 weapons have been destroyed since 1995 under an arms collection project sponsored by a religious group in Mozambique.
The concept of the "Arms to Hoes" project was proposed by the Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM).
"All weapons collected were transformed into hoes, the concession of sewing machines, building material, tractors, bicycles, ploughshares, stationery, among other objects", says a CCM report available to Xinhua.
The program directly benefited about 26,000 families spread throughout the country, according to the report.
"Indirectly, morally and materially the project benefited 17 million Mozambicans who'll never die by the collected and destroyed weapons," the report said.
So far, the project has 795,856 corrugated iron sheets, 1,808 bicycles, 674 sewing machines, a tractor, 2,969 hoes, 532 ploughshares, 202 doors, 402 windows, 78 domestic utensils, 68 axes, 600 kilograms of seeds, among others.
Rather than destroying all the weaponry, CCM offered them to artists to use as raw material to make 300 works of art, the document said.
Apart from being exhibited in Mozambique, the artifacts were also shown to the public of Zimbabwe, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States as well as the United Nations Assembly General, according to the document.
"It's important to point out that Mozambique is one of the few, if not only, countries where the civil society is undertaking on its own the process of collecting and destroying weapons", the report said.
To gain the trust of the recipients, the religious body is also monitoring their activities. It is believed that the beneficiary can carry the encouraging word to those who still hold weapons illegally.
"They're witnesses for the project admirers since they speak openly on its benefits. Many of them have big farms, improved houses, and travel distances on bicycles", the report pointed out.
It was difficult to estimate the quantity of illegal weaponry which had entered Mozambique during the country's 16-year civil war, which ended in 1992.
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