Rising from the ruins: Paulino’s poultry dream in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

In the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, the rhythm of life has been disrupted for years. Once a land of quiet farmlands and coastal winds, it has become a place marked by displacement and recovery. According to OCHA 2025, “Between 24 July and 3 August, over 51,900 people (12,300 families) fled 14 villages in Chiúre district, Cabo Delgado.” Amid this turbulence, hope still finds a way to hatch.

For Paulino Francisco Dorosario, 34, the dream began small,  just an idea that life could be better, even here in Montepuez, a town that has become a refuge for many displaced families.

“I wanted to start something that could help me and also feed others,” he recalls. “When I joined Young Africa, I didn’t know this dream could really take flight.”

Paulino trained in poultry farming at Young Africa’s Mobile Training site in Cabo Delgado, learning everything from chick management to sustainable feeding systems. He graduated in 2021, at a time when the scars of conflict were still fresh, and rebuilding communities felt like an impossible task.

Two years later, with a starter kit from Young Africa, Paulino launched his own small poultry business. It began with just a few chicks and a makeshift coop, but through determination and skill, he turned it into a thriving enterprise.

Today, the income from his poultry business supports his younger brother’s university education, a milestone that fills him with pride. “I know what it means not to have opportunities,” he says softly. “Helping my brother go to school means our family is moving forward.”

Recently, he became a Crafts Master, training 25 young people from his community. Many of them, like him, were once displaced, now they are learning to rebuild through skills.

In a place where food insecurity still lingers, Paulino’s chickens bring affordable protein to local families and produce organic fertiliser that enriches the soil, turning waste into growth.

“Every egg, every bag of manure, it all has value,” he explains. “Nothing is wasted. We are learning how to live in balance with the land.”

This quiet act of resilience, of turning care for animals into care for people and the planet, represents the kind of transformation that Cabo Delgado needs most: one rooted in sustainability, not aid; in skills, not dependency.

Paulino’s story is a reminder that even in regions scarred by war and climate disasters, young people are building futures with their own hands. Through green skills in agriculture, they are restoring livelihoods, stabilising families, and inspiring others to see that recovery is possible.

“I used to think everything was lost,” Paulino says. “Now I see that we can rise again, even from the ashes.”

In Cabo Delgado, where conflict and climate have tested resilience, young people like Paulino are proving that empowerment starts with opportunity, and that a single poultry coop can become a symbol of peace and renewal.