Addressing the urgency of need for assistance in Angola, a news brief in the New York Times (Aug. 24) reports that people are dying from malnutrition at the rate of 200 a day and that 1.7 million are homeless. Angolans "are living at a level of despair that exists nowhere in the world today", according to Catherine Bertini, executive director of the World Food Program.

This update on the region confirms reports of staff of the General Board of Global Ministries who recently returned from the country with stories of the tremendous hardship of Angolans. "When there are crises of the magnitude currently being experienced throughout the continent, it is always children who suffer the most," says Deborah Bass, associate general secretary GBGM and staff leader of the visiting team. "The meal that children receive at feeding centers and programs sponsored by the church is the only one that many receive daily."

Having traveled first to Zambia to participate in a commissioning service for "Missioners of Hope", a newly instituted program of Global Ministries which has a specific purpose of responding to the needs of children in crises, Ms. Bass and staff continued to other parts of the continent including Angola, where they reviewed United Methodist related projects for children, and explored new ways Global Ministries might help.

An initiative of GBGM that came out of the United Methodist Bishops' Appeal of "Hope for the Children of Africa", the "Missioners of Hope" program is a timely and much needed effort. Among the tasks that the missioners are being assigned throughout the continent are: the building of orphanages and schools; development of health and feeding programs; and counseling children traumatized by war situations such as the present wartimes conditions in Angola.

A country where war has gone on for thirty years, Angola now has thousands of children who have been mentally scarred by continuous conflict. There are children who are maimed--and most tragic, thousands of children have been killed. Current news of mass starvation and homelessness only fuel the sense of hopelessness that prevails throughout the region.

"The suffering we witnessed demonstrates just how meaningful and needed the work of GBGM is to our Christian partners," says Ms. Bass. "One begins to fully appreciate that even the smallest contribution helps."

The General Board of Global Ministries asks for ongoing prayer for the people of Angola. Persons who wish to help alleviate the suffering can send contributions to the Angola Emergency Fund: #105685 or Hope for the Children of Africa # 101000-4.

Also see related "Missioners of Hope" articles:

United Methodists Commission 'Missioners of Hope' in Africa
The African Way: Reflections From Zambia

August 27, 1999