Nelson Mandela Day 2014 in Luanda

The South African Embassy in Luanda identified a Pastor who is working in the Bom Jesus Village as our focus for the 2014 Mandela Day Initiative. The village has two Pastors who are very active in trying to assist their community.

While there are a range of difficulties facing the community from poverty, unemployment, lack of facilities etc, we found that the most pressing challenge in the community is the lack of schooling. The school provided by the pastor catered for children who were unable to attend the local government school as it is full. Earlier this year, the only teacher for the church school left as she was able to find a better, higher-paying job which has resulted in the children not attending any school at all.

The school run by the pastor also caters for the women in the community who also come to learn to read and write. Before closing the school catered for approximately 40-50 children from the ages of 07-12 years.  Also, when he was able, the pastor would provide meals for the children.

The Embassy was informed that when the meals stopped, attendance at school dropped too. The church does not receive funding from Government or any NGOs. The embassy in collaboration with a number or South African companies (SAA, SA Tourism, Denel, and Standard Bank) was able to raise enough  money to sponsor two teachers for a year, a supply of long life foods to continue the feeding scheme, school clothes, plant some trees and provide school materials. We are thankful for the support received and for the small difference we were able to make in the community.

South African Embassy in Luanda, Angola