Success Stories
Connecting Communities in Angola
The bridge across the Ulalelo River, in western Angola, was destroyed in 1993. In August 2003, with support from the U.S. government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Africare (a US non governmental organization) and the local Soba (traditional village leaders) contracted 60 workers from Jamba, Kaue, Chiobo and Chimbuengue to rehabilitate the bridge over the Ulalelo River. Before being destroyed, the bridge had been a vital means of communication and transit between Jamba, Kaue, Chiobo and Chimbuengue. Although vehicular access to these regions of Kuanza Sul was possible, it required a major detour, on very poor roads. As a result, trucks came through only a few times per month. For the past ten years, the populace of these villages has been confined to their side of the river, thus restricting the transit of people, goods, communication and health care services.
The rehabilitation used local timber, sand, stones, and rocks in the reconstruction. Once completed, the livelihood of the 16,000 people living in the Botera commune was restored. The new bridge reestablished the free movement of people and goods within the Botera commune offering farmers and merchants greater and easier access to other (new) markets.
