2015-06-17 14:00:00

Angola brings home the reality of “Laudato si”


Angola, facing severe drought in its Cunene Province is bringing home, in very concrete ways, the need of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato si which literally means “Be praised” or better, “Praise be to you.”

The much anticipated encyclical will be officially launched, in the Vatican, Thursday 18 June by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Vatican Radio’s Portuguese service correspondent, Anastácio Sasembele, who is based in Angola, says in her latest report that here is now an urgent need for food relief in Angola’s Cunene Province.  She says that more than 700 000 people are already affected by drought and hunger in the area.

A protracted dry spell has wreaked havoc to ordinary people’s livelihoods in Cunene. Many children are already facing severe levels of malnutrition.

Angola used to have two distinct seasons: The cool, from June to September; and the rainy, from October to May. The heaviest rainfall was normally in April.  Among the reasons for the changed climate are International and local demand for tropical timber. With so many trees cut down, rainforests have been destroyed and the weather affected.

Although the Province of Cunene has a tropical dry climate, semi-arid type, with an average annual temperature of 23ºC it nonetheless used to record its highest concentration of rain between the months of December to April. This has not been the case for many years now.

(Paul Samasumo)

engafrica@vatiradio.va

 








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