The @Verdade newspaper in Mozambique has a team much larger than its newsroom, including a distribution team that delivers the paper to outer Maputo, to the unpaved neighborhoods where most people live. Recently, the newspaper has been doing some training on citizen reporting via mobile with the distribution team, its “eyes and ears” around town. Janet Gunter used this opportunity to do a baseline assessment of mobile ownership to determine needs for budding citizen reporters. The result she thought could be interesting to a wider audience. Here is a sampling. Names have been changed, but everything else is based on Janet's interviews and observation.

1. How do you mobile,
Mozambique?
The @Verdade newspaper team shares
thoughts on mobile use.

2. The @Verdade newspaper in Mozambique has a
teammuch larger than its newsroom, including a
distribution team that delivers the paper to outer Maputo,
to the unpaved neighborhoods where most people live.
Recently, the newspaper has been doing some training
on citizen reporting via mobile with the distribution
team, its “eyes and ears” around town. Janet Gunter
used this opportunity to do a baseline assessment of
mobile ownership to determine needs for budding
citizen reporters. The result she thought could be
interesting to a wider audience. Here is a sampling.
Names have been changed, but everything else is based
on Janet's interviews and observation.

3. Alfredo is a distributor and
mechanic’s assistant with
@Verdade. Has a Nokia
feature phone that has a
camera with flash, with
video recording ability. He
is proud of his photos,
maintaining a couple of
albums. He has a Kwaito
House ringtone and would
like another phone for a
second SIM card.

4. Celestinois a motorcycle-rickshaw driver with @Verdade. With a
Chinese dual SIM, he accesses each operator in different bays.
Celestino says he would like a phone with a better camera,
these Chinese ones are no good, except for the dual SIM
feature. He has an R&B ringtone.

5. Chico is a web editor with
the newspaper. His
Nokia"dumbphone" is lent
by his brother, who had it
lying around. The other
phone (bottom), also a
Nokia, is a hand-me-
down. He has had it for
only 6 months, and the
Internet does not function,
which is frustrating for
him. The only luxury he
has is two SIM cards, one
from each operator.

6. Gildo is a staff reporter with @Verdade. He bought his Nokia
feature phone secondhand, two years ago. The camera was
broken when he bought it. He likes SMS on a Nokia, saying it is
the “cleanest” and easiest way to write a text. He just got a
Blackberry (right) for work but is waiting for the contract to come
through, so he has yet to access the Internet on his phone.
Note: Gildo lost both phones later the evening after this interview,
when he was attacked by knife-wielding thieves. His hand and
torso were cut up.

7. Ivone is on the support staff with
@Verdade. Listening to Rihanna, she has
only two songs because she cannot afford
a new, larger memory card. She has had
this phone for three months, when she
bought it secondhand after her last one
was stolen. It takes photos, but she thinks
“this one won’t last long”.

8. Marco is the chief mechanic
with @Verdade. He bought
his new Nokia phone with a
guarantee from state
telecom mcel three months
ago. His first phone was a
Samsung which lasted six
years. After this, he bought a
Chinese phone which lasted
for only two months. His
Nokia has a one-year
warranty, so if anything goes
wrong, he can trade it in for
a new one. As for extras, the
phone has a flashlight and
radio.

9. Chico is an @Verdade distributor. Has been an Mcel customer for
10 years, and has had his "no-frills" Nokia phone for a few years -
- he knows how to dial and type with the keypad scratched off.
Chico believes he should be with the “Mozambican” provider. He
could replace it for less than $2 but he does not need to.

10. Victor is also an
@Verdade distributor. He
can not access the
Internet on his Chinese
dual SIM phone, and the
camera is broken, too. The
Samsung phone has an
mcel SIM, but he can only
access the Internet when
he uses the Vodacom SIM
from his other phone. The
Samsung has the Virgin
Mary, or Our Lady of
Fátima, as its background.
He bought both second
hand.