On July 6, 2023, on the 25th anniversary of the volunteer service in Angola, the project group of InitiativAngola set out on a two-week trip to Angola and arrived in Luanda in the early hours of the following morning. The Don Bosco sisters welcomed the group with great joy and open arms.

During the 15 days of the project trip, the participants visited the different school centers of the Don Bosco Sisters and Salesians in Angola: Luanda, Calulo and Quitila, Dondo, Benguela, Zango, Cacuaco, Luena and Cabinda.

Dia 1

Today in the early morning hours, we arrived in Luanda. The warm welcome of the Don Bosco sisters made us feel welcome.

Dia 2

We used the morning for a short walk through Luanda and then after lunch we set off for Calulo. On the way, we also stopped at the Don Bosco Center in Dondo.

Dia 3

This Sunday we celebrated Holy Baptism in Calulo. The residents of the area gathered to participate in the three-hour celebration, festively dressed. In the afternoon, we could see with what joy the children danced, played, painted and sang at the oratory. We ended the day with a short hike to the nearby mountain.

Dia 4

Today we visited the school in the small village of Quitila. Although it is vacation time, the whole school came together and gave us a wonderful welcome. The way to school for the children here is long: some of them cover 36 km a day (on foot!).

The costs of running the school are fully covered by IniciativAngola.

On the way back, we stopped at the hospital of Calulo, where the director told us, among other things, that there are problems with the operation of some equipment (e.g. MRI).

Dia 5

After three nights in Calulo, we traveled on to Benguela today. It was hard for us to say goodbye, in the short time we spent with the girls and sisters from the boarding school, they have already grown close to our hearts.

During the daylong drive, we were able to enjoy the beauty of Angola and chose a particularly beautiful spot at the waterfalls for lunch.

Dia 6

Today in Benguela we took a trip to the beach with the sisters. Afterwards we visited the National Archaeological Museum. In the afternoon, we visited the school center of the sisters and the Salesian community.

Dia 7

It has already been a week since we traveled to Angola. Impressive days full of beautiful meetings, smiling faces and touching moments are behind us.

Time flies and we are looking forward to the remaining days.

After a full day of travel, we returned today from Benguela to Luanda.

Dia 8

Today Benjamin and Mark arrived in Angola. The two of them will help the sisters in Luena with a construction project as volunteers for the next two weeks. Together we made our way to Cacuaco, where we first visited the school center and then went to the fishing district. For the 25th anniversary of volunteering in Angola, the sisters prepared a special surprise for us.

In the afternoon, we went to Zango, where literacy courses are offered in a center for adults. Another day full of impressions lies behind us, Angola has enchanted us.

Dia 9

Near Luanda, in Morro da Cruz, is the National Museum of Slavery, which we visited today to learn more about the cruel period between the 16th and 19th centuries when men, women and children were shipped from here as slaves. The visit to the museum was an important point on the program of our trip and will certainly remain in our memories.

In addition, today we also devoted some time to shopping at the markets and cozy get-togethers.

Dia 10

Today we spent a relaxed Sunday in Luanda. After breakfast, we went to Holy Mass in the São Paulo district - the church was filled to capacity and it was once again nice to see the passion with which every service is celebrated here. Back from church, we prepared lunch together. Then everyone spent the afternoon as they liked - playing soccer with the kids, taking a nap or something else entirely. Since we are flying to Luena tomorrow, this rather quiet day was just what we needed.

Dia 11

Actually, we were supposed to fly today from Luanda to Luena, a good 1000 km away. Arriving at the airport with the tickets in hand, however, we were informed that today's flight was cancelled for unknown reasons. We will try again tomorrow and hope that it will work out then.

Since our plans changed unexpectedly, however, we also had the opportunity to explore Luanda further. We stopped by the Don Bosco Center and the Salesian mission office, visited the beach and did some shopping - in short, we didn't get bored.

Dia 12

While our flight yesterday was canceled, everything worked out today and we were able to fly to Luena. The sisters have a wonderful center here in which, among other things, a preschool is also housed. Just today, the little ones had their graduation ceremony there, which of course we couldn't miss.

Benjamin and Mark have been in Luena since Sunday and are helping the sisters to build a wall. Naturally, we also visited them and made sure that everything is going according to plan.

Dia 13

Today, after morning mass, we continued our tour of Luena. First, we stopped at the Peace Monument. In 2002, the Angolan civil war, which had been going on since 1975, was ended in Luena.

Then we visited a settlement in a poor neighborhood. The sisters there are working to convince families to send their children to school. About 29% of Angola's adult population, especially women, cannot read or write.

In the afternoon, we already had our flight back to Luanda. Thank you Luena - it was a pleasure.

Dia 14

In Angola's exclave Cabinda, the Don Bosco sisters are currently building a new school center.

We flew there today to learn more about the work of the sisters on site, to visit the construction site, to visit the Salesians there and to do a little shopping at the markets.

We were especially pleased that the bishop of Cabinda also found time to welcome us.

A visit to the border crossing with the Democratic Republic of Congo, which separates Cabinda from the rest of Angola, rounded off the day.

Dia 15

After 15 unforgettable days in Angola, the time has come to start our journey home. Before we head back to our daily lives, we celebrate a farewell thanksgiving service together in Luanda. "Many drops make a sea" says Sister Zvonka and reminds us how important every little form of support is.

It will probably take time to process the many impressions we gathered, some of which we will perhaps find difficult to convey to others at home.

It only remains for us to thank the Don Bosco Sisters for all the hospitality we experienced and especially for their tireless work in Angola.

Niko Wakounig