World Vision Relief Manager, Edward Brown,
describes the current situation in Angola as "...a tragedy..."
after returning from a trip to Huambo where new relief programmes are preparing
to start.
"It's a tragedy that in a place
where there's so much potential, there's so much poverty," he says.
Edward and Jonathan White (WVAngola Operations Director) spent five days last week in the heart of ex-UNITA territory, assessing the current situation of returning IDPs and making preparations for the start of further operations on approval of the USAID Food For Peace proposal.
A World Vision office has recently opened in Huambo to reflect the strategic shift in geographical focus that will enable World Vision to respond to the desperate needs of the thousands of IDPs returning to their places of origin since the end of the civil war.
As Edward had observed in Huambo, Angola is a country full of potential, particularly in the agricultural sector. The land is fertile with an extensive river network and lowland swamps that ensure crop production even in the dry season.
The tragedy is that Angola is still a food-deficit country and hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from food shortages and malnutrition even with the natural resources available.
It is our hope and prayer that with sustained peace in the country and the work of agencies such as World Vision responding with appropriate agricultural interventions, the potential of Angola that was evident in Edwards visit will be realised.