Lisa De Teran - Founder and Director of the Teran Foundation says . . .

It is seven thirty and we have just finished supper: spaghetti bolognaise and aubergine fritters.  Shades of Italy spilling into Mossuril. There is a half moon tonight so it was light enough to see our way as Iain and I walked through the bush to town. Iain had some photos to take on his last evening here. Tomorrow we will sail to Mozambique Island and the next day we will brave the main road to Nampula Airport.

These are Edinburgh Napier days. Five students, and two tutors all gracing this little part of the outback on the edge of the Indian Ocean. Mossuril, despite being a `District capital is a sleepy little seaside town so small it can hardly be called a town.  Because not a lot happens here, the mere arrival of seven foreigners caused quite a sensation. Add to that, when the visitors started painting butterfly murals around town, the sense of wonder became boundless.

Having lived here now for eleven years, it has been a treat to see both the delight  of the local people and the sense of achievement as Ross, Jacob, Elliot, Sarah and Mikaela trek in and out of the ‘town center’ with their buckets of paints like a troupe of conjurors making magic butterflies out of nothing. 

A lot has been achieved since Edinburgh Napier hit town, but I still need to get to know each of the students better. Next week we will be working on projects such as an eco-marquee and a cloth map, and that will be a chance to work more closely with them.

Yesterday one of the villagers said that the Napier visit had lifted `Mossuril out of obscurity; as though the butterfly was physically lifting the local people up into the air.

Every day Myrna blogs. It has been wonderful being around Myrna, as she throws out stunning new ideas about what more we can transform here to further enhance the film festival-to-be . We are marketing this LIFE film festival as the one at the end of the road: the film festival for the really intrepid movie lovers. It takes courage to come this far, and I am very pleased and grateful that Edinburgh Napier has made the journey.