SOS Children in Angola

Overview of Angola

The Republic of Angola is on the south-western coast of Africa, bordered to the south by Namibia, to the east by Zambia, and to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

With its breathtaking scenery and white-washed beaches, it is one of Africa's most beautiful countries and with its vast reserves of diamonds, potentially one of the wealthiest. However, 54% of its 17 million people live below the poverty line as a result of a 27-year civil war which finally ended in 2002.

During the civil war, over a million people were killed and 4 million made homeless, the majority of them children. Hospitals and schools were destroyed resulting in the fact that today less than 20% of children have access to secondary education. The level of malnutrition is “the worst seen in Africa in the past decade” according to Médicins Sans Frontières, and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world.

Our Work in Angola

SOS Children began its work in Angola in 1994 with the construction of an SOS Children's community in the southern town of Lubango. We set up a wide-reaching vaccination programme against meningitis, an illness from which hundreds of children were dying.

Lubango

This programme was followed by the opening of SOS Children’s Village Lubango in 1998. The Village is situated approximately 3 kilometres outside of Lubango Village and provides a home for up to 120 children in 12 family houses. The Village has an SOS Nursery and an SOS Primary School for up to 680 children. The SOS Vocational Training Centre offers training courses in agriculture and dressmaking, as well as a basic literacy programme for needy children from the community. An SOS Youth Home accommodates up to 24 youths whilst they are undertaking higher education or vocational training. This gives them the chance to prepare for an independent life under the guidance of their youth leaders. Family Strengthening Programmes support families in the local community to help prevent family collapse and child abandonment. The nursery school, primary school and a medical clinic are open to local people with over 900 patients treated by the clinic every year. With many state-run schools and hospitals still closed due to the recent war, these projects provide valuable facilities for the wider community that are not otherwise available.

Benguela

During the civil war, Benguela, on Angola’s west coast, served as a refuge for thousands of people from the mountain regions, and many refugee children were placed in refugee camps and orphanages there. In 2001 we began running Family Strengthening Programmes  in Angola, offering support to vulnerable families in the community, many of whom have been affected by HIV / AIDS.

The main aim of the Family Strengthening Programme is to help children at risk of losing their natural family environment by strengthening their families' ability to care for them. This includes providing educational scholarships, school materials and school uniforms and medical support. SOS Children also provide business training for parents so that they are able to support their families financially. Moreover, a local orphanage receives material support through the scheme.

A new SOS Children's Village in Benguela was completed in 2005. There are 12 permanent family homes for 100 orphaned and abandoned children, many of them war orphans. There is also an SOS Nursery School for 100 children and an SOS Primary School for nearly 500 children. A large sports field is attached to the primary school for the children to play outside. In addition, an SOS Medical Centre with a capacity for about 500 patients has been built on the village site, providing assistance to both those in the village and in the local community.

Huambo

A third Children’s Village is currently being constructed in Huambo, a province greatly affected by the war, making its children the most vulnerable. The village is being built on a five-hectare plot on the outskirts of town and will comprise of 12 family houses for up to 120 children. An SOS Social Centre has been running its Family Strengthening Programme since 2008, focussing on providing a range of services for HIV and AIDS affected families.

 

Aids Orphans in Angola

There is also information on the Aids Orphan Projects in Angola, Africa.

Life in SOS Children's Villages Angola: Family Strengthening

The Family Strengthening Programmes in Angola have run immunisation campaigns, established feeding centres and promoted literacy.

Take a look at the circumstances of three families and how the Family Strengthening Programme have helped them:

The Cussucala family

While mourning the loss of her husband in the Angolan civil war, mother Cussucala and her seven children became displaced and fell on hard times. The now vulnerable children dropped out of the educational system. The family was fortunate if they managed to eat once a day and their clothes became old and tatty.

Mama Cussucala was given a loan of 5,000 Kwanza (USD 66) to start a small business by SOS Children. She started baking and selling cakes. In addition, she enrolled on a sewing course and was given a sewing machine so that she could make clothes for her children and to sell to others. Her second son is considered to be one of the best pupils in the SOS Primary School.

The Jacob family

Also displaced after the war, this family of four soon faced tragedy. Due to a lack of basic services Mrs Jacob died as a result of malaria in 2004. Her husband, who was working on a neighbouring farm, received two kilos of maize or 200 Kwanza (USD 2.50) a day.  Unfortunately after a year he became very depressed, started drinking in excess and lost his job. The children ate once a day when possible and roamed the streets for handouts.  

SOS Children Village in Lubango provided each family on the Family Strengthening Programme 7 hectares of land for an agriculture farm to grow crops both for themselves and to sell. For dad Jacob, working a piece of land that he considers to be his own has been therapeutic and he has significantly cut down his drinking. He enjoys working and the children are happy to have hot meals each day.

The Job family 

This family came from the Ganda municipality, Benguela province, to Lubango as displaced people. Mr Job passed away in 2001 leaving his wife, five sons and a daughter alone. The children dropped out of school and meals were a rare thing as the family had no income.

SOS Children helped Mama Job to get copies of birth certificates for her children so that she could receive child care grants. She was previously employed as a domestic worker but due to poor health she resigned. The Family Strengthening Programme provided her with a loan of 3,000 Kwanza (USD 40) to start a small business selling beads and charcoal. The children were given school uniforms and the funds to go back to school. The family can now afford to eat healthily and the children are able to concentrate better and as a result, do well at school.

In addition to the examples of these three families, another 447 children in the Mapunda, Calumbiro and Sra do Monte areas are benefiting in a similar way through the SOS Family Strengthening Programme in Lubango, Angola.

*names have been changed to protect privacy

Local Contact

Aldeia de Crianças SOS Angola (associated)

Caixa Postal 332

Lubango

Angola

Tel: +244/2612 45101

Fax: +244/2612 45889

e-mail: afonso.castro@aldeiasosangola.org