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Queen Sofía struts her stuff for Africa cause

Alex Dunham
Alex Dunham - [email protected]
Queen Sofía struts her stuff for Africa cause
Queen Sofía gets ready to dance in front of a crowd of Mozambican locals. Photo: Youtube

Queen Sofía of Spain has praised the work of Spanish voluntary workers on her visit to Mozambique, where she even had a go at the African country’s traditional dance.

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“They’re the best,” said the monarch as she referred to Spanish volunteers in Africa.

ABC newspaper reported that Queen Sofía arrived in the Mozambican capital Maputo on Wednesday and was clearly moved by the exemplary work the Red Cross has been doing in the emerging African nation.

Spanish Red Cross volunteers have been helping some of the 400,000 people who were affected by the floods that struck the southeastern African nation last July.

The Spanish Queen met 79-year-old Sister Carmen, a missionary who’s been in Mozambique for 29 years.

Sister Carmen has taken 45 girls who were made orphans by the floods under her wing.

“All we want is for them to have a life”, Carmen told Queen Sofía.

“The best way to be happy is by giving someone their life back.”

The only thing she asked the Queen for was a small library for the girls to learn to read.

Queen Sofía also met Sister Elisa, another old aged Spanish missionary who helped save 40 people from drowning in a hospital in the rural town of Chokwe.

“The rice which came from Spain was a blessing,” said Sister Elisa. “People were able to cook and eat soon after the flood.”

She also managed to convince the Queen to pay the €20,000 needed to repair Chokwe hospital’s generator.

The donation will come from Queen Sofia’s foundation, which carries her name.

The Spanish Queen has been getting under the skin of Mozambique and its culture.

She has worn traditional African garments and had a go at dancing Mozambique’s chingomana dance. 

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