printer-friendly email a friend

BICAP Report From The Trip To Angola

On behalf of the Bishops Initiative on Children and Poverty, I would like to thank you so very much for the funds that have been sent for the purchase of school kits that will go to Angola, with any remaining kits going to the local outreach ministries of the Conference.

As you begin to think about the conference offering we thought this report written by the three persons that visited Angola on our behalf would be helpful. It moved me to tears.

BICAP REPORT FROM THE TRIP TO ANGOLA

Dr. Geraldine McClellan

Melba Whitaker

Michael Wacht

This is a pivotal point in the history of Angola. For the first time in the history of the country, the people are free from colonial rule and are at peace internally. We have an extraordinary opportunity to make a significant difference in the life of the East Angola Conference.

The trip was very important in establishing trust and communication between members of the Florida Conference and members of the East Angola Conference. Because communication is so difficult and often impossible between the U.S. and Malange, Angola (the conference headquarters) it was imperative for both conferences to see faces, for us to hear their stories, for us to walk their land, for us to worship in their churches, and for a short period of time to see the world from their point of view.

First, there will be a list of facts about the conference. Then there will be information from interviews with the district superintendents and the conference staff. Next there will be a priority list of major projects that Bishop Quipungo has given us.

Lastly, there will be a recommendation from this group on the direction that we should go.

East Angola Conference of the UMC facts:

· Before the civil war there were 125 churches in the conference. Now there are 35 United Methodist Churches in the entire conference.

· There are 5 districts in the East Angola Conference.

· At least half of the membership of the conference are children and they are often orphans. The other half of the membership is made up of adults who barely have enough to subsist. There is no money coming from churches to the conference for program or any other kind of expenses, including salaries.

· United Methodist churches, pastors, college, theological school, and hospital were targeted for destruction during the war.

· The infrastructure of the conference is destroyed. The roads are in deplorable condition, making transportation time consuming, expensive, and laborious when it is even possible to travel.

· Electricity is provided for only a few hours during the day in Malange.

· The only water that is available is from wells and that is not necessarily clean.

· The conference building which houses a clinic, a women’s sewing school, the conference offices, the bishop’s apartment, and guest rooms has no running water.

· Communication between the churches and the conference office is possible only through traditional mail that may take a month to be delivered.

· Pastors and district superintendents receive no pay. In 2002 the district superintendents received only $68 and that was not until November and that money came from the bishop’s salary. He also pays a major portion of the costs of an orphanage that is located behind his home. To be a pastor in this conference means to live in dire poverty.

· Houses for pastors and district superintendents are not always provided.

The only transportation that pastors and the district superintendents have is their feet. Schools are not in every community. When there is a school, there are no books, paper, often no desks, or chalkboards. Churches are often responsible for the building of schools. Clinics are few and have little or no medicine. The main hospital in Malange that serves a huge geographical area is in very poor condition with little medicine, no equipment for lab work, and very out-dated tools for surgery, etc. Conference staff is not paid. The only person who gets a regular paycheck besides the bishop is the treasurer who is also the bishop’s secretary. He gets $100 a month. Many churches are roofless and without walls because of the bombing. Churches that are complete buildings are made of mud bricks with thatched roofs or zinc plated roofs. The conference office equipment is practically non-existent. The bishop’s computer is old and troublesome to connect to the internet.

East Angola District Superintendent’s Interviews

(Needs have been highlighted)

1. Carlos Mukuisseno Tehihuto – District of Lunda Sul

War because of diamond mines in the area and the presence of Unita
25 churches before war, now 5
300 hectares for agricultural work
2 medical posts, but no medicine
Orphanage
Need food and homes
3 primary schools there
Building 5 chapels with blocks made with sand and clay; problems with acquiring zinc for roof and cement for floors
Need zinc and cement for DS home
Churches are 100, 150, 300 KM from DS home with no transportation

Need Bibles, hymnbooks, stationeries
941 members on district
Married with 4 children

1. Alexandre Luis Geremiar – District of Moxico

Before war 10 churches, now 5
War was inside town and they lost Central church
1070 members, 146 men, 187 women, 516 children (birth –11) and 220 youth
30 hectares of agricultural project – need agriculture materials
Need DS house – no house at all
Need transportation
Beginning to build chapel now

1. Benvinda Mendouca – District of Malange (woman)

11 churches
8 evangelization centers that are too small to support a pastor
People are returning from Luanda who fled there during the war
District is 70-100 K around Malange

Needs: churches built, zinc plates for roofs, cement for floors
DS office needs a typewriter
Membership of district: 223 men, 398 women, 20 young adults, 456 children, 175 youth
No transportation
Salary – none – in 2002 all of the DS’s received only $68 in November

#1 need – salary and transportation (this is true for all DS’s)

1. Pedro Alferes Gouveia – District of Quela (rural district)

Before war 12 churches, now 6
People fled during war to Malange and are now returning
All of area was destroyed in the war as were the crops
District in survival mode

Needs: pastors, construction materials, zinc, cement, transportation, salary for DS and pastors
Membership: 1282 members – (includes Damba Refugee area) 350 women, 127 men, 210 youth, 630 children

1. Rev. Maniel M’Bungue Malela – District Da Lunda- Norte

Same problems
People now returning
Before war 28 churches, now 8
Churches are 100-120 K away from DS home
Churches now rebuilding
There is a school for rural children
Some pastors are teachers too
Building DS office
Has clinic but not medicine
Small orphanage
Has Agricultural field
Membership: 1674 members, 478 men, 464 women, 458 children, 314 youth

Needs: transportation, building materials, communication, salary

Desire to have a salary of $120 per month for each DS.

Conference Staff

Women’s Society

Budget - $1000
Focus is agriculture and animal husbandry, reduce poverty and help partners
Farms 5 hectares in Quessua

Needs: agricultural material (seeds, etc.), tractor, 100 animals (goats, etc.)
Best thing that has happened is working with partners

Christian Education

Publishes material
Xian magazines

Needs; material, duplication machine, computers

Evangelism

Difficulties: poverty, many different religions in Angola, people in transition, transportation

Need to "follow" transits back home and start new churches there
Desire to organize evangelization crusades
The best thing to happen was the evangelism to spread the gospel to Bie (the first UMC, maybe the first Christian church?)

Theological School

Once a year to prepare laity

Need space
Intend to rebuild Quessua

Children’s Department

Needs $8000
Proud of improvements in the orphanage building

Youth Department

Most affected by the war is the youth
Most youth missed high school years of schooling

Need library to increase knowledge
Agricultural project
Best things to happen: youth organized in 5 districts and 2 mission areas

Women’s Training Center

Acquired 2 new sewing machines

Needs more sewing machines and sewing notions.

Administration of Conference

Needs: furniture, telephone, computers, salary for secretary, paper

Lay Delegate

In developmental stage
Poor infrastructure throughout conference: housing, schools, shopping
Land mines
Accomplishments – increase of classes to 703(?), construction of Hope of Africa School, visitors from the states, PEACE

Priorities of Bishop Quipungo

Because the priorities of the conference are centered on Quessua, you need to first understand the importance of Quessua.

Quessua – Holy Ground

Methodists have a very strong history in Angola. The first bishop was the intrepid missionary William Taylor, named in 1885. The UMC has very positive and strong support among the people of Angola and much of that is due to the existence of Quessua.

The missionaries built Quessua, named after a nearby river, in the early 1900’s with help from GBGM. Quessua became the heart and soul of the Methodists in Angola. It is located a few kilometers from Malange in the gently rolling countryside with beautiful vistas. Surrounding Quessua are fields, small villages, and in the distance is a high hill on which the missionaries planted a cross that can be seen for miles.

Quessua was built in style. The buildings were concrete and built with a gorgeous architectural style complete with plumbing. Located there was a college where hundreds of students received their higher education. The theological school for all of Angola was there. A huge hospital served a wide geographic area. There were dormitories for the men and women students, houses for the teachers. An enormous agricultural university is there. Many of the Methodists who are now in their fifties and older were educated there. The schools were for everyone, not just the Methodists and the hospital served all of the population. The grounds are still impressive. There must be thousands of acres that belong to Quessua and the United Methodist Church.

What happened to Quessua?

When Angola received its independence from Portugal, the first president was United Methodist. The factions that fought in the civil war wanted to gain the political power and thus were anti-Methodist. At the beginning of the civil war, about 25 years ago, Quessua was bombed out of existence as an act of revenge against the president. Nothing could have hurt the United Methodists more and indeed, hurt the next two generations of Angolans more. Every building, except the church, was destroyed. Roofs are missing, all the windows and doors are missing, and vegetation has taken over. Even the church building was damaged, though it is still used for worship. Stained glass windows are broken and the ceiling tiles are hanging by threads. Building after building after building was destroyed. All of the villagers left the area and only now are slowly beginning to come back.

When you arrive at Quessua you are speechless at the senseless damage that was done. Not only were buildings and the institution destroyed, but also the chance to educate thousands of children, men and women went up in smoke. If you are really silent, you can hear the voices of the students singing hymns, you can see the doctors and nurses tending the sick, you can hear the theological professors teaching about evangelism, you can see the hope of a bright future in the eyes of the students, you can sense God’s presence in the lives of the people who were blessed by being at Quessua. But you have to be really quiet to hear the spirits of the United Methodists whispering in the wind that blows across the lush bush grass that is overtaking the buildings. It is indeed holy ground.

What is the future of Quessua? Bishop Quipungo believes that it is of utmost importance to rebuild Quessua. Architectural plans have been drawn. He is approaching the government for help in rebuilding, as it was a victim of the civil war. Not only will this provide education and health care for thousands of Angolans it will be a moral victory over the destruction of the war. There are detailed plans; there are financial plans on what it will take to rebuild Quessua. It is a mammoth undertaking, but the vision is there and there is a task force in Luanda who is working with the Bishop to begin restoration. The heart and soul of the East Angola Conference is located at Quessua. Upon seeing and understanding the real meaning of Quessua, when you visit there, you cry, you weep at the losses.

Hidden among the tall grass is a cemetery where missionaries are buried, missionaries who gave their lives building Quessua, who taught there, who healed people there, and who gave their lives for the freedom of the Angolan people. We cannot allow them to have died in vain. Quessua must rise again!

Bishop Quipungo has spent a lot of time getting the facts and figures for rebuilding Quessua. Following is a list of projects that Bishop Quipungo would like help with from the Florida Conference. They are listed in order of first priority, second, etc.

1. Rebuilding Quessua UMC - $150,000 with local labor

2. Rebuilding Quessua College - $250,000 with local labor

3. Building the Quessua Parsonage- $70,000 with local labor

4. Rebuilding the Quessua School of Theology - $153,000

5. Upgrade the school at New Galilee UMC in Malange - $2,000

6. Building 8 more classrooms (45 students each) at the Hope of Africa School in Malange - $100,000 (adults as well as children will attend here)

7. $3,370 a month or $42,840 a year to pay for the salaries of all of the teachers and workers at the Hope of Africa School in Malange

8. $10,000 a month to have salaries for pastors, district superintendents, and conference staff

9. Rebuild Catepa UMC in Malange that has many orphans in the congregation – $5,000

10. Put roof, doors, pews, and windows on the Damba UMC - $15,000

11. $15,000 for each of the 5 districts to build a new church

12. $5,000 for each new church in each district for altars, chairs, and pews

13. Tractor, seeds, animals, fertilizers for Women’s Agricultural Program

14. $38,000 to install plumbing for the Methodist Building that includes the Bishop’s living quarters, conference staff offices, clinic, and guest quarters.

Recommendations of the Team

1. We recommend that the Florida Conference enter into a 5-year supportive relationship with the East Angola Conference.

2. We begin this year with the AC collection going toward the rebuilding of the UMC at Quessua with a goal of $200,000.

3. The major AC offerings over the 5 year period will go toward raising funds to rebuild the rest of the Quessua compound of college, theological school, parsonage, etc.

4. Allow groups within our conference to adopt some of the smaller projects listed above and to meet some of the stated needs of the district superintendents and conference staff.

5. Bring some of the conference staff to our conference for a period of time to shadow some of our staff and learn about more up-to-date technological ways of administration.

6. Teams to be sent to Angola to work there should consist of medical teams with medicine and equipment, small groups who would be willing to stay for a month to teach at the Theological School, and periodically send a small team to build personal relationships. They have the ability and manpower to actually build buildings; they just need the money for the supplies. The only place for a team to stay is in the guest apartment at the Conference Center. At the most, it can house 6 people with one bathroom and no running water, but that many people will put stress on the plumbing in the building as it is now. Angola is an expensive country to visit, but the goodwill that was established through our visit is priceless.

$50,000 from AC 2002

The money that was collected last year at AC has finally been sent from GBGM. The money has been designated as follows:

$5,000 – well for Hope of Africa School in Malange

$5,000 – generator for Hope of Africa School in Malange so night classes can be held

$5,000 – medicine for clinic in Malange

$1,000 – 4 treadle sewing machines for women’s group

$11,000 – bicycles for all pastors and district superintendents

$5,000 – upgrade technology

$5,000 – pay theological professors

Remainder to be used at the discretion of Bishop Quipungo.

We would also ask you to visit the Initiative web site and download a very important guide for reaching out to your community, A Church for All God’s Children - Congregations Responding to the Needs of Children in the Church and Community, www.umc.org/initiative. No congregation could do this work and remain the same. In one part of the guide you are asked to do a community study but that most likely has been done by your local United Way, County Planning, or some comprehensive planning organization in your area. You may want to check with them on that part.

A brand new resource that is available through Cokesbury and will be at A.C. this year is

A study guide for small groups, church school classes, ect, called Community With Children and the Poor, A Guide for Congregational Study. The cost of the guide is $8.00.

I hope you will purchase these books from Cokesbury and that our congregations will do theses studies.

Again thank you so very much for all you do to share God’s love in your community and literally around the world. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

May your Easter be blessed,

Rev. Pam Cahoon, Chair

Bishop's Initiative on Children and Poverty