Portuguese mission brings smiles and hope to Angolan villages of Gungo

A Portuguese Catholic mission has brought hope, comfort and smiles to the villages of Gungo, helping to overcome the isolation of the population of this mountainous region in the Angolan province of Kwanza Sul.

The presence of the Portuguese in Gungo (Mbale municipality), consisting of coffee and sisal farms in colonial times, this Sunday is a matter of faith, materialized in the 1950s church that still stands there, in a deep state of degradation, and in mission under the leadership of Father David Ferreira from the diocese of Leiria-Fatima.

Seemingly touching the sky, at an altitude of more than a thousand meters, granite massifs and lush green vegetation make up a landscape that dazzles and hides the harshness of life for the 34 thousand souls cared for by a Portuguese priest. , covering an area of ​​over 2,100 square kilometers, similar to that of the Viana do Castelo district.

To get there, you’ll have to drive 130 kilometers from Kwanza Sool’s capital, Mbale, on a winding and bumpy road that becomes slippery as rain turns the trail into a trail of red mud.

The last 50 kilometers after the finish on asphalt took the Lusa team five hours to complete an adventure accessible only to motorcycles and SUVs.

The idea of ​​the mission began to emerge in the 1980s, but it was only when progress was made towards twinning the two dioceses – the Portuguese one in Leiria Fatima and the Angolan one in Sumba – in 2006 that it began to be realized. have a constant presence of a priest and a group of lay missionaries, Onjoyetu (Our Home, in Umbundu), who try to help the population overcome the difficulties of everyday life.

Without cell phone service, electricity or water supply, villagers are left to fend for themselves and must travel long distances to make calls, go to school or buy essential goods.

“It may seem like a small thing, but this is the only place in this whole area that makes photocopies,” says the priest, who first came to Gungo in 2006, stayed there for five years and returned on mission. in 2016.

With the help of the villagers, they have already built a mill to ease the pain of women who traditionally beat corn until it turns into flour, launched a truck to transport and bring food, and created a solidarity canteen. which sells basic necessities at economic prices, they have built a chapel, provide care at a small health center and are developing a gravity water system.

During a tour of Donga, one of the mission’s eleven centers and headquarters, David Ferreira demonstrates some of the improvements, including a machine from Portugal that produces compressed earth blocks (BTC) stronger than adobe and solar “kits” panels that allow the mission to be the “light in the darkness” of the mountains.

David Ferreira also hopes he can bring back into service the satellite phone that was installed there in 2017 to serve as a public pay phone, so he no longer has to travel 20 kilometers to get news from family or alert them to emergencies.

“Since 2017, between 2.5 and 3 million kwanzas have been spent on calls from this location” (between 2,800 and 3,400 euros), David Ferreira told Luse, emphasizing the need and economic justification for communication in this location.

The priest also wants to restore the 1950s church dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Conception, gracefully perched on a cliff and surrounded by a landscape in a state of grace.

In his “white horse”, the name of a jeep that has already traveled 421 thousand kilometers in the service of the Mission of São José do Gungo, the tireless “all-terrain priest”, guardian of souls, engineer, farmer, doctor and everything you need comes, bite higher, bite lower, trying to change lives in a “shared walk” with the population.

“These people feel very abandoned,” he laments, pointing to the “apparently neglected access road” as one of the problems at this remote site, where 60 volunteers have already passed since 2016, when the Onjoyetu group was created.

Ana Lucia, a young 23-year-old nurse, is one of the latter. He arrived in November and grew up hearing family stories “from the land of Gungo,” which is why he chose Angola for his first volunteering experience abroad.

“The day I arrived in Dongu, I felt at home,” he says.

He greets the team from Lusa with a happy face and hands dusted with flour from the chorizo ​​bread he kneaded with the villagers and will serve for breakfast to the new arrivals from Luanda?????? “Dong Bigwigs” who, driven by the spirit of the season, carry donations and toys for children.

The nightly arrival of the “Santa Fathers” is celebrated with song and dance, and soup from “Grandpa Filipe”, the mission’s cook of 30 years, who greets visitors before they prepare for a short rest.

In a few hours, the bell will call everyone to morning prayer at 6 a.m. in a makeshift “church” with an altar and a cross made of wooden planks.

Later, David Ferreira celebrates Sunday mass, which includes passages in the Umbundu language, traditional songs, the chatter and whining of children strapped to the backs of their mothers, the cackling of roosters, the scents of the countryside and the crackling of wood in the stove.

Nurse Ana Lucia describes the beauty of the place where she immerses herself in contemplative moments as “a magnificent work.” There he will spend six months “helping others,” treating minor ailments and helping spread awareness of basic medical care to “make people realize that soap and water are enough to clean a wound.”

He says the language barrier makes it a little difficult to understand, but he tries to “get into their reality” so he can help communities and “apply a little bit” he’s gleaned from his academic background and hospital experience, curing colds and treating wounds and burns. skin problems or imminent malaria.

While Ana Lucia heads to the “office”, “Grandpa Filipe”, 82, stands around the pots.

He remembers when he started cooking in 1954, when Portuguese farms were “all sending coffee,” and he takes pride when people praise his cooking and talks about the legacy he wants to leave by teaching others his knowledge.

“We are not saviors, we are doing our bit,” concludes David Ferreira, adding that “there are many gungos like this in Angola.”

“If we can help a little, this is where we should be missionaries,” he emphasizes, rejoicing in the confidence of a mission “that is with the people and walks with the people.”