The partnership between the United Church of Christ in Mozambique (UCCM) and Global Ministries has its roots in the 1870s when the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission showed an interest in working in Mozambique. Today, the mission of the United Church of Christ in Mozambique is to serve God and bring people to a progressive religious experience inspired by Jesus Christ through worship, preaching, and the sacraments.

The United Church of Christ in Mozambique has a Microcredit program which was started by the church’s Department of Family Development. The program is a source of hope for women and their families. The project was initially started with no outside investment and has grown to additional communities. Now, in order to participate, women must first go through training sessions on how and why one must save. Once women start to save, they are placed within a savings group. Each group numbers 25 women or fewer and the group commits to saving for six months at a time. Women in the group can borrow funds and must re-pay with 10 percent interest. Non-members can also borrow but they must have a co-signer who is a member of the group. Women who borrow funds may use them to start a business or may use them for needed home repairs or other projects. Some groups are also using some of their income to contribute to the construction of churches. The interest paid by borrowers becomes interest income earned by women who have invested in the savings group.

There are now 175 savings groups associated with the UCCM. The women have started to promote the groups by creating t-shirts that read “I am saving. And you?”

The Department of Family Development is working to expand into more communities across Mozambique. They are seeking funds so they can pay expenses to provide more training sessions in new communities.