Margarida Botelho

The Encounters project took place in Mozambique with the support of Inov-Art (Portuguese Government) and Unesco. For a period of 8 months I travelled through Mozambique with a bag full of “empty” books which were given out to members of the community and step by step, page by page, the books were filled with an array of personal stories. The project was designed based on a simple idea: If we can learn how to convey our life story in a book with words and illustrations perhaps we can further our awareness of whom we are and what is around us. In poor communities this could be a generator of sustainable social development. I worked in a number of areas: on the Island of Mozambique, in some Maputo slums, a rural village and an International refugee camp. Hundreds of books were produced. Encounters in Mozambique will also to be a picture book, right now working in progress, to be released in December 2011.