Zefanias “Jeff” Joel Zango
Jeff is a boat owner, businessman, community leader, and family man. A former fisher, Jeff is now usually found touring the coast on his ATV, quick with a helping hand and a bright smile. Jeff’s images of Závora depict the tight bonds of family and community found on Mozambique’s Wild Coast.
Jeff is a man about town. As a former president of Závora’s fishing council, he was always around, greeting fishers and community members and helping out—taking a fish buyer’s catch to the village on his ATV, or pictured here, helping fishers push their boats onto the dunes. Reflecting on this photo, Jeff remarked how proud he was of the Závora’s communal fishing dynamic. “I like being able to show that we are helping others.”
Jeff consistently encourages any opportunities or ideas that will help to better organize and unify Závora’s fishing households. Here, Jeff photographs the Bailaki women’s savings club meeting. He boasted about how the women have largely organized and run the now-multiple savings clubs in the surrounding municipalities to help Závora’s women and those beyond save money and track their family’s finances.
Jeff photographs Henriqueta (another participatory photography participant), who has malaria. Jeff and Henriqueta are friends, so we see here an intimate portrait of Henriqueta who continues to conduct business from bed.
