ANGOLA: Moving toward the Future with Hope

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Welcome to the Global Ministries Mission Live
Webinar with Donna Dudley, missionary working
with the Evangelical Congregational Church in
Angola The presentation will begin at 700pm.
Please mute your computer microphone and turn
up your computer speaker audio volume.
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Challenges Realities for the Church in Angola
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National Context Background

• 1974 Portuguese colonial rule ends
• 1975 MPLA victory ongoing civil war with UNITA
• 1989 1994 failed peace accords
• 2002 Peace accord that is holding
• 2008 Parliamentary elections held

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Political and Social Realities

• Civil war leaves winners and losers, destroyed
  infrastructure, legacy of structural and domestic
  violence, broken lives and divided communities.
• Peace is the cessation of armed hostilities, not
  peace with justice.
• A weak civil sector and high levels of abuse of
  human rights prevail.

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Political and Social Realities (2)

• Economic growth benefits only the few while the
  great majority survive on 1 per day.
• Paralyzing fear grips and controls most people
  if you stand up, you stand out and are at risk.
• The truth that sets people free is yet to be
  spoken.

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Statistics that Challenge Us

• Life expectancy 40 for men 41 for women
• People actively participating in the economy 32
• Population below poverty line 68
• Population without access to basic health
  services 76
• Population with access to basic sanitation 16

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Statistics that Challenge Us (2)

• Population with access to potable water 47
• Population age 20 and under 60
• Infant mortality rate 154 for every 1,000 live
  births
• Child mortality rate by age five 274 per 1,000
• Maternal mortality rate 1,500 per 100,000

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Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola
(IECA) Background Landmarks

• 1880 founded by North American missionaries to
  begin rich history of evangelization and
  community development
• 1930 first jubilee celebrated 10 missions and
  822 branches, generally rural and central
• Civil War Destruction of mission stations and
  flight of rural people to cities

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Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola
(IECA) Background Landmarks (2)

• 1991 Dept. of Social Assistance, Studies and
  Projects (DASEP) created to revitalize community
  development
• 2009 IECA is Angolas second largest church
  with
• presence in 15 of 18 provinces, over 900,000
  members,
• 2,800 congregations,
• fewer than 180 pastors, and resolve to be 100
  urban and 100 rural

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IECAs Strategic Outlook

• Mission SloganEvangelize, teach and promote
  integral and lasting peace in Angola by Word and
  Works
• Vision Slogan
• To create a more just Angolan society, founded
  on ethical-moral and biblical principles, leading
  to a better world for all

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IECAs Strategic Priorities

• Evangelization to grow the church and to create
  and sustain hope
• Education for children and adults to improve
  literacy and academic attainment

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IECAs Strategic Priorities (2)

• Training for teachers, vocational preparation,
  and for church and community leadership
• Sustainable Development to improve life for
  individuals, families, and communities

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IECAs Strategic Priorities (3)

• Health/HIV-AIDS to reduce epidemics, infant and
  maternal mortality, and prevent the spread of
  AIDS
• Gender equity for women and protection for
  children to empower those individuals most at
  societys margins
• Institutional Development to improve the
  general administration of churches and projects
  and to increase institutional credibility

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Additional Concerns Cited by Clergy and Laity

• Continuing healing from the war, for individuals
  and society
• Encouraging reconciliation among former
  combatants and between various sectors
• Sharing ideas regarding how to live in peace,
  with a healthy sense of community

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Additional Concerns Cited by Clergy and Laity (2)

• Educating individuals for citizenship promoting
  voting rights encouraging government
  accountability and empowering civil society
• Developing leadership, within both church and
  community

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Additional Concerns Cited by Clergy and Laity (3)

• Creating opportunities for self-sustainability of
  the church and projects, to lessen the impact of
  outside control
• Strengthening positive internal and external
  partnerships that foster community development

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Additional Concerns Cited by Clergy and Laity (4)

• Advocating for human rights, including special
  populations
• Encouraging cultural development and pride

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Examples of Forward Progress, Signs of Hope
Canata Pre-School Program

• Opened in March 2009
• Enrolment of 100 children, ages 3 5
• Has a strong arts component, provides
  recreational activities, encourages teamwork, and
  exposes children to pre-reading skills

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Cuio Water Project

• The goal was to improve poor peoples access to
  safe water and basic sanitation to improve health
  and living conditions
• Construction of a pump-and-gravity system to
  deliver water
• Local women manage the project and resisted
  government attempts to increase pricing
• People have moved to the town to benefit from
  this safe, secure water supply

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Faces of the Future
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Faces of the Future (2)
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Faces of the Future (3)
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Faces of the Future (4)
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Partnering to Createa Shared Vision of the Future

• I served as an assistant to Luis Samacumbi,
  DASEPs General Director, from January 2008
  through December 2009
• Helped develop organizational capacities
• Assisted in enhancing strategic and operational
  planning and implementation
• Offered guidance on a variety of projects
• Assisted in strengthening relationships with
  existing partners and creating links to new ones

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• Working together
• to build the
• one body of Christ
• in
• two different places

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The Journey Yet to Come Critical
PresenceMeeting Gods People at the Point of
Deepest Need
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• Thank you for participating in this Global
  Ministries Mission Live Webinar. Global
  Ministries is able to send missionaries, like
  Donna Dudley, on behalf of Disciples and UCC
  because of your generous support of Disciples
  Mission Fund (DMF) and Our Churchs Wider Mission
  (OCWM).
• Thank you for sharing the story of Gods mission
  in Angola in your congregation and please tell
  others about our next Mission Live Webinar on
  January 28, 2010 _at_ 8pm when Emily Christmas,
  Global Mission Intern serving in South Africa
  will share her story.