Journey to the heart of Angola

The first time I ever heard of Calulo was back in 1999. Inter Campus was not yet off the ground in Africa, but we were on the lookout for local partners involved in child welfare.

And so I found myself in Luanda, the guest of the Salesian Volunteers, part of the International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS). As it happened, one volunteer was to travel to Calulo, which meant a six-hour journey into the depths of Angola. Yet the area was still marked by war and his colleagues tried to dissuade him – one Salesian had even been killed by militiamen on the very road the volunteer would have to take.

It was strange to be returning to Calulo, then, nearly 20 years down the line. The town is located in the Cuanza Sul province, at around 1000 metres above sea level. Thankfully, the area is now free of the clutches of war, allowing hundreds of boys and girls to follow the Inter Campus programme at the Dom Bosco sports centre.

Father William, a Brazilian priest and our contact in Angola, drove us inland in a car loaded with food and other supplies, taking advantage of the journey to bring the locals all they needed from the capital. When we arrived in the village, we were met by a wave of colour: the black and blue of the children’s Nerazzurri jerseys, the red of the dusty earth, the green of the bush all around.

Calulo was just one of the stops on our trip to Angola, however. We visited Dondo, another town in the heart of the country, as well as the chaotic Luanda, whose streets are constantly jammed with cars, motorbikes and communal taxis. There were also trips to Trilho, Mabubas, Sao Paulo, Sao Jose and Palanca, our coaches Fabio Perfetti and Silvio Guareschi observing the local instructors’ training sessions to evaluate their progress, then running development courses in each location.

The mentoring of local coaches is central to the Inter Campus project, with the enthusiasm of the Angolan team proving the perfect foil to our efforts. Angola is a place hungry for knowledge, for growth, for a better future.

Our visit drew to a close with a tournament in Mota, with boys and girls from several centres coming together for the occasion. As we took our leave, the kids crowded around to ask when we would be back: “In August, in August!” they shouted. And return we shall, in six months’ time, as we do every year.

31.01.2017