Angola: A Time of Change

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Greetings, once again, from Angola’s capital, Luanda! I now have lived and worked here for over a year, as a representative of Global Ministries’ partnership with the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA). I want to share with you some of the changes occurring in Angola, especially those that IECA is helping to bring about through its Department of Social Assistance, Studies and Projects (DASEP), in which I work. As IECA’s community outreach arm, every day DASEP addresses issues that impact the quality of people’s lives, including health care, education and training, gender equity, sustainable development projects, as well as peace and reconciliation.

Since April 2002, Angola has been at peace after almost 27 years of civil war, in which many young people were involved, most against their wills, as perpetrators and, at the same time, victims of violence. Many young people that served as child soldiers, on both sides, are demobilized, but they – and now their children – don’t have the skills and opportunities needed to face the new challenges that “normal” life demands.

Even though the economy is growing, only a few at the top are reaping the rewards while around 70% of the people continue to live in poverty. Angola’s gross national product is in excess of $3 trillion (US), but per capita annual income is $270 and the vast majority of people in Luanda survive on $1 a day, relying on the informal economy. Almost 70% of the population lives below the poverty line and approximately 75% live without access to basic health services. There is insufficient spending on primary education. Although enrollment in primary schools has improved, the percentage of girls enrolled is less than that of boys, and this gap increases in secondary school, suggesting that women and children continue to be disproportionately represented among those who suffer most from a lack of fairness in Angola.

But, there are positive signs of change. At the beginning of 2008, the president of the National Children’s Council noted that the Angolan Government has committed itself to guarantee the survival, protection, development, and well being of Angolan children. And, this commitment is to be carried out by the Government in partnership with Angola’s private sector, including churches and non-governmental agencies (NGO’s).

This is where IECA’s work through DASEP is a ray of hope in this time of change!

In May, DASEP facilitated IECA’s first national forum on education since 1975, when Angola achieved independence. The 50 delegates from all over Angola expressed their willingness to take on the challenge of making our 58 schools models of excellence. IECA currently enrolls almost 21,000 students in grades 2 through 9, with the Angolan Government paying the majority of the salaries of our 591 teachers.

DASEP’s Integrated Programs for Rural Development are part of the efforts to grow opportunities for employment and a better quality of life in Huila, Kuando Kubango, Huambo and Bié provinces, which helps to reverse the exodus of people into Luanda and facilitates the ongoing resettlement of Angolans who left the country during the civil war.

Angola currently has a low incidence of HIV/AIDS, as compared to levels in many surrounding countries, but this is changing as people infected with the virus return and as importing goods via truck routes grows from Zambia, Namibia and even South Africa. DASEP does awareness and prevention efforts including informational presentations, radio call-in programs, and will add self-help groups for persons living with AIDS in 2009. IECA’s 11 local nurses’ stations continue to offer health screenings, referrals to physicians or hospitals, and basic medications through a partnership with Rotary International Foundation.

And, for me, the greatest reminder that change not only is possible, but also does happen is DASEP’s General Director Luis Samacumbi. Luis was taken from his family as a child and forced to fight in the civil war. He found out only years later that during one battle his older brother, Amaral, who had been captured earlier as a child to fight, was the person on the other side firing the missiles that killed most of the men under Luis’ command. Luis’ faith has allowed him to reconcile with his brother and to become a daily agent of reconciliation and change through DASEP.

It is, indeed, a time of change in Angola – and what that change looks like depends on the wisdom and courage of Angolans, the prophetic voice of a Servant Church, and the help of international partners who listen to and cooperate with the hopes and dreams of Angolans. Do we leave change in the hands of the few who seek their own enrichment, with little thought for the greater good of the Angolan people? Or do we claim positive change, participation, and empowerment for the poor who are without health care, education, and a means to make a decent living?

DASEP is casting its lot with the second kind of change. It is, to borrow two phrases, “change we can believe in” and the desire to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” I am humbled and grateful to be a part of DASEP’s commitment to work for positive change that benefits all of God’s children and pray that you will continue to journey with us, trusting God to continue to make a way as we remain faithful.

Peace and blessings,

Donna Dudley

Donna Dudley serves with the Evangelical Congregational Church of Angola. She assists with development projects and staff leadership training programs.