Help a Child in Angola

 
Map of Angola
  • ChildFund came to Angola: 1994
  • Population below poverty line: 40.5%

The second largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa, Angola has the world’s highest death rate and its highest infant mortality rate. Crippled by a 27-year war during which an estimated 1.5 million people died and 4 million were displaced, the country is slowly rebuilding its infrastructure and social service system and beginning to address the needs of families and children.

Work Began Helping Vulnerable, Displaced Children

ChildFund’s work in Angola began in Luanda in 1994 by training adults to organize healing activities for nearly 15,000 street children, orphans, and displaced children. Over the past decade, ChildFund has supported former child soldiers and other war-affected children and youth through a combination of family reunification and integration, livelihoods development and traditional healing activities believed locally to cleanse returning child soldiers of spiritual impurities. As the country transitions from conflict to stability, ChildFund provides longer-term, more holistic programming with a focus on strengthening the capacity of local community institutions.

Child Protection Leader

ChildFund has become a leader in child protection in Angola. With the support of USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), ChildFund strengthened the capacity of institutions to provide psychosocial support to war-affected children and raise awareness in communities of child needs.

“ChildFund has become a leader in child protection in Angola.”

ChildFund facilitated the formation and training of seven regional child protection committees, in which nearly 200 representatives of government institutions, national and international NGOs, churches and local leaders currently participate. ChildFund also helped to create and train 10 community-based child protection committees, which assess and respond to both child and family needs.

Child Centered Spaces

Children are resilient, even in the aftermath of war and disaster. Our Child Centered Spaces are safe havens where children are encouraged to discover their strengths and begin their journey to emotional healing. Structured activity helps return them to a sense of normalcy. Our centers facilitate the provision of essential health, family reunification, recreation, education and psychosocial services to 34,000 war affected children and youth. Close to 470 government officials have been trained in child protection. In addition, 1,208 children and youth were enrolled in non-formal education and life skills training programs.

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Strong Education Support

With sponsorship support and donors such as UBS Foundation through ChildFund Germany, BP, ChildFund Korea and other partner organizations, ChildFund supports primary education through the provision of school supplies, rehabilitation of school buildings and training for teachers in techniques that encourage children to ask and answer questions. Training also focuses on child rights and school governance in Huambo, Benguela, Huíla and Baia Farta.

Helping Communities Help Themselves

In Huambo, Huíla, Baia Farta and Benguela, ChildFund provided training to 800 family leaders, 54 community educators and 14 community child protection committees to respond to child protection needs. Individuals are trained to identify cases of child abuse and are supported to respond to such cases, using community resources and networking with local government and civil society support mechanisms where they exist. ChildFund also supports teams that train staff and volunteers in child rights, child protection and techniques for working directly with vulnerable children.

Healthy Futures

ChildFund supports public sector partners to encourage widespread vaccination of children under five and overseeing the provision of essential medicines in health posts accessible to communities. Malaria, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and is completely preventable, claims more lives than any other disease in Angola. Sadly, children and pregnant women are at highest risk.

To reduce deaths caused by malaria, ChildFund participated in the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, providing community mobilization and education for an indoor spraying project in Huila and Cunene provinces, reaching 654,000 individuals.