-
Make a real difference...
-
to communities across Africa.
-
Share skills and knowledge...
-
and sponsor children...
-
to develop a better future
-
...and change lives forever!
| Auto |
The twenty seven year civil war saw Angola, with its then population of
some thirteen million, a devastated country, its economy in ruins
and its infrastructure shattered. Worse still, the country
remains, to this day, littered with landmines. Life expectancy there
is 60.78 years (2018) and Angola has the second worst child mortality rate
in the world, only outdone by Sierra Leone. In fact, over one in
four children inside Angola are dead before their fifth birthday.
This is partly due to poor access to safe water with many getting
their supplies from unprotected wells causing high rates of
cholera and diarrhoea. The country still has to import
over half its food needs and it is estimated that severe malnutrition in Angola has affected 85,000 children since 2019.
Angola is in 148th place out of 189 countries and
territories in 2019 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to
knowledge and the living standards of a country. Emotionally around half of all children inside the
worst war torn areas of Angola have been shot at, lost their
homes, or seen neighbours and members of their families killed. There is widespread trafficking in Angola with boys being
shipped to Namibia to herd cattle whilst girls are trafficked
both internally and externally to South Africa, Namibia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo
for domestic servitude. Recent figures are not available, but
about 85% of the population working inside Angola are engaged in
agriculture with the remaining 15% employed by the industry and
services sectors.
Today Angola is undertaking a major
rebuilding program with foreign loans, however there are
allegations that monies provided are subject to corruption and
the rebuilding is slow due to mismanagement and the high rate of
inflation running at 10% (although this has much reduced from
the 325% of 2000). Much of this money should be going to repair
irrigation systems that were destroyed during the war leading to
a decline in agriculture and food production, fuelling rural
poverty and also on transport structure such as roads and
bridges, also destroyed, that would help farmers to get their
limited produce to market. Inside
Angola roles are fixed with women clearly subordinate and this
is reflected in literacy rates being 82.0% for men and just
60.7% for women (but up from 56% and 28% respectively in 1998).
Women often undertake the role of food trading and in
agriculture whilst males are engaged in herding and wage labour.
The war left many families without a male figurehead and given
that women mainly work the land, today 80% of landmine victims
in Angola are women and children.
The war has also had a major impact on traditional family
life inside Angola with many families dispersed and those who
remain united living together across generations whilst looking
for lost relatives. Lost relatives who were part of the one
third of the population displaced at the end of the war.
Ironically in cities like Luanda there is a far from African
feel with expensive restaurants and shops with a Latin American
blend reflecting the influence of Portuguese culture on the
country.
Life in Angola: Volunteer in Angola
|
Life in Angola: Angola Poverty
|
Life in Angola: Child Sponsor Angola
|
Life in Angola: Angola Profile
|
|
Details of current volunteer work
opportunities in each of the
countries of Africa.
Find how to sponsor a child in Africa
with our list of organisations,
charities, programs and projects.
Discover all about Africa, its tourist
attractions, history, people, culture
and daily life there.
