“The United States is well-blessed,” he said. “God created a world with those blessed and those not blessed. We are blessed with wealth. But Angola was blessed with poverty. The blessing is that somewhere this allows us to use what each person has, to make the situation right. Since the U.S. is blessed with a high economy, therefore, we are called on to give away our wealth.
West Angola Annual Conference and California-Nevada Annual Conference have a partnership arrangement. Two more years remain on the time line for the partnership, and the focus of the partnership is being re-assessed. “So far, the arrangement is given a failing grade,” J.P. noted. Angola is now emerging from 30 years of civil war. By contrast, the Civil War in the U.S. lasted five years, and one-fourth of the land was destroyed. The Angolan civil war lasted 30 years. At the end of the conflict, there is no public water system, no sewer system, no power system. There is no safe drinking water. After four years of peace, there are still land mines. Every school was destroyed. An entire generation was lost.
Therefore, there is a long way to go for Angola to recover, but we can help them in the recovery process. At the beginning of the partnership between the two annual conferences, J.P. was asked by Bishop Beverly Shamana to coordinate this arrangement. As he had been born in South Africa, J. P. said he naively concluded this would not be a difficult task.
In the U.S. most annual conferences are partnered with an African annual conference. Money given is done as “second mile giving” (through The Advance) even as we struggle to pay apportionments. Then, if there is any funding left over, we send that to Angola. In the African concept, J.P. explained, these things are our responsibility.
Many UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers In Mission) teams have gone to West Angola. When they arrive, team members wonder how the Angolan people feed them as much as they do, as poor as they are. But the food is a blessing they can provide. Angolans know what hospitality is. If they can give food, it is theirs to give. If theirs to give is need, on the other hand, they give you their need.
“Pastors are not paid well in Angola” J.P. said. “Their salaries are between $150 and $300 a month. And the Angolan Church has schools there but their teachers are not being paid.” J.P. noted the beauty of the Paradise UMC sanctuary where the UMW meeting was held. “If this meeting were in Angola, every seat would be filled. Buildings considered not habitable in the U.S., would be filled to overflowing.
The doctor-to-patient ratio in Angola is one to 4,000 people. Few Angolans have ever seen a dentist. “If you have medical experience, we need you,” J.P. emphasized “ to do wellness checks, top give immunizations. Medical personnel are needed to set broken bones, to birth children, to administer basic hygiene.”
The church in Angola has begun a university, with Portuguese as the main language there. Whereas Africa University in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, teaches only in English, the Angolan University wants everyone to be bi-lingual, thus the need for ESL teachers.
Houses in Angola are built of sticks and mud. No home has utilities. Houses have no floors. Pigs, chickens, goats wander freely. Children play in puddles where the pigs roam. In the outlying areas, landmines are still a danger.
“We as an Annual Conference can not look on Africa as the only place where need is evident. There is much need all over the world,” J.P. said. “As an annual conference, we are committed to work in Angola. We have sent UMVIM teams to South Africa, Guatemala, Fiji, and Tonga and to South Africa. Yet we have also sent 50 teams to the Gulf Coast.
And the people of Angola are counting on us to serve with them.” (California-Nevada has sent more teams to help repair the damage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, than any other annual conference)
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