In Focus: Angola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two and half decades of civil war have left the country devastated. Formerly a communist nation, Angolan society has experienced the misery, deprivation and violence that that ideology always births. But praise be to God, the light of the gospel has been steadily bringing healing and succour to so many broken hearts. However, the challenges are still great.

Please pray for:

• Godly leadership all round
• Inter-tribal unity after years of bitter fighting
• Provisions and resources for mission agencies and groups. The high level of poverty means many of these ministries are poorly funded.
• The powerful move of the Holy Spirit in making all ministry efforts effective in bringing about change in the society.

See further information below.

 

Name: Republic of Angola

Area: 1,246,700 sq km

Large coastal state on the South Atlantic coast. Cabinda is an oil-rich coastal enclave to the north of the Congo River.

Population: 18,992,707

Annual Growth: 2.71%

Capital: Luanda

Urbanites: 58.5%

HDI Rank: 143 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples: 60 (3% unreached)

Official language: Portuguese

Languages: 41

Answer to Prayer

The remarkable growth of biblical Christianity amid war and poverty. Evangelicals quadrupled from 1990 to 2010, despite the extremely difficult conditions.

Challenge for Prayer

Luanda and other major cities attracted the displaced but had no capacity to shelter them properly, so squalid squatter camps rapidly sprung up. A large proportion of the rural population fled to urban areas due to food shortages and lack of security. The government is accused of failing to care for these unwilling refugees. There are large numbers of orphaned and abandoned children; many are falsely accused of witchcraft by relatives as a pretext for getting rid of them. Others are forced or sold into prostitution to feed themselves. Pray for those working with the urban poor and the children at risk.

Source: http://www.operationworld.org/ango>