Welcome to our newsletter with updates the past month from projects covering education, health, agriculture & environment, and integrated community development. 

The STEM Namibe Project was launched officially on 22 February at the Júlia Lopes Teacher Training School. Joining the Provincial Director of Education of Namibe, Dr. Agostinho Sebastião Neto, were department heads, representatives of heads of municipal offices in Moçamedes and Tômbua, headmasters and teachers from the primary schools involved in the project, tutors from the Teacher Training School and guests.

The Provincial Director gave an encouraging speech, leaving the audience in no doubt that the collaboration between the Department of Education and ADPP augured well for the sustainability of the project that would benefit many pupils in the two municipalities.

The day after the launch, the Minister of Education, Luísa Grilo, was visiting the Júlia Lopes Teacher Training School, and was pleasantly surprised to have the opportunity to observe first-hand the STEM sessions taking place in the laboratory. 20 sessions were planned for physics, 20 for chemistry and 10 for biology. From experience at previous ADPP STEM projects, there is no doubt that teachers and pupils alike will enjoy science and mathematics lessons from now on, and everyone will benefit.

Smallholder farming is a family affair but that does not mean children should be kept out of school to help their parents. They can help, however, by learning about vegetable gardening while at school, as the garden is an open-air classroom for measuring, weighing, understanding soil biology and plant development, nutrition and human biology, the importance of conservation methods, and global warming, to name but a few of many possible topics. It is a fun and productive way to learn. Project staff working with Green Schools in Namibe and Bibala commented this month that things always go very well when you do them with passion. Pupils and teachers enjoy participating in the preparation of land for horticulture as “many hands make light work,” and they will be enjoying the fruits of their labour before long, when the maize and beans planted in February grow and ripen, simultaneously with the ripening attitude of young people toward agriculture and the environment.

Duarte Manuel, Leader of the project in Cunene to increase community resilience through access to water for domestic and agricultural purpose, explained that February saw the rural communities involved reach an important milestone. The communities in Ondjiva and Curoca could see water coming out of taps, drip-irrigation fed from huge tanks promoting growth in vegetable gardens, animal drinking troughs alleviating the thirst of stock, and dams filling up with water that would help replenish depleted aquifers. The project progressively installed submersible pumps as the wells and boreholes as they were dug or renovated, together with solar panels to provide energy for the pumps. Local people attended training in how to maintain or carry out simple repairs on the water systems, and how to help their communities manage the water.

Community resilience is being achieved through a combination of access to water, improved health thanks to safe water plus improved crop yields and more nutritious food, and the knowledge gained from working on boreholes, dam-building, tank construction, pipe-laying, and the care and maintenance of the water systems.

Thank you to all the partners who support our activities.

VISION
ADPP seeks to support people in developing the vision and capacity to contribute to development, for themselves, their communities, and the nation.

MISSION

• To promote solidarity between people
• To promote the economic and social development of Angola
• To promote a better life for the underprivileged and those most in need

ADPP (Ajuda de Desenvolivmento de Povo para Povo) stands for Development Aid from People to People. ADPP Angola works in the fields of education, health, agriculture and environment, and integrated community development.