Vi er i Angola

Vi er i Angola

Some facts about Angola

Two sisters - photo: T. Figueira
Two sisters in SOS Children's Village Lubango – photo: Tony Figueira
The Republic of Angola is a country in south-central Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the north and Zambia to the east. Angola’s capital city is Luanda, which lies on the Atlantic coast. The country's total population is now 19 million.

In the early 15th century, the Portuguese first landed in present-day Angola. Portugal’s main interest in Angola soon became slavery. During Portuguese colonisation, thousands of Angolan slaves were transferred to the sugar plantations of São Tomé, Principe and Brazil. By the 19th century, Angola represented one of the main sources of slaves for Brazil and the Americas, including the United States. Angola declared its independence from Portugal in 1962.

However, the guerrilla war against the Portuguese did not end until 1974 when the regime in Lisbon was overthrown in a military coup. Power in Angola was handed over to three major independent movements from ideologically different backgrounds. Angola saw 27 years of civil war, which formally ended in 2002. Throughout the war, around 1.5 million people died and four million people were displaced.

Unequal distribution of wealth

Situation of the children in Angola

A new life in SOS Children's Village Lubango - photo: T. Figueira
A new life in SOS Children's Village Lubango – photo: Tony Figueira

Around 140,000 children in Angola have been orphaned due to AIDS. The total number of orphans in Angola is as high as 1,500,000. During the civil war, an estimated 700,000 children lost either one or both their parents. 100,000 children were separated from their families as a result of the war.

It is not uncommon in Angola for children to be abused, abandoned or even killed for imagined acts of witchcraft. Thousands of Angolan children roam the streets of Luanda and other major cities. Some have been banished from their homes, while others have lost their parents in the war or because of AIDS.

SOS Children's Villages in Angola

Contact:
Aldeia de Crianças SOS Angola
Caixa Postal 332
Lubango
Angola
tel. +244 2612 45101


fax +244 2612 45 101

Villages in Angola

  1. Benguela
  2. Huambo
  3. Lubango