Musseques, informal housing, also called slums or shantytowns.
Almost three quarters of the people in Luanda live in musseques, the peri-urban informal settlements which sprung up as safe havens for those fleeing the war. What are the challenges and problems facing the musseques where today the birth rate is higher than ever? The Angola Field group invites you to a presentation, “Musseques, from Survival Strategies to Sustainable Development”, at the Viking Club, Thursday April 10, at 8:00 PM with Willy Piassa, a Community Development Specialist with Development Workshop, a local NGO that has worked in Angola since 1981. Willy has been the Senior Manager of the Luanda Urban Poverty Program and has wide experience building the capacity of Angolan civil society organizations. He graduated from the University of South Africa and completed Postgraduate studies in Governance at the University of Glasgow.
Less than half the households have on-site sanitation. Photo courtesy DW.
Everybody is welcome to attend. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this event is offered free of charge. Beverages and snacks are sold at the Viking Bar which opens at 7:30 PM. Coupons must be purchased. For Sale: Natural honey and home made peanut butter from the Mutti Farm in Moxico. Handwoven baskets from the Zambezi Women’s Cooperative as well as books about Angola, and Natural Medicine including Artemesia Tea from ANAMED Bie.
Less than 30% of Luandans have access to running water in their homes. Photo courtesy DW.
You can download a map showing the location of the Viking Club on our Join Us page. The Viking Club is on the main floor of Edificio Maianga, Rua Marien Nguabi, No 118 in Maianga, across the street from the Panela de Barra restaurant.
Luanda musseque. Photo courtesy DW.
Angola Field Group 
April 4, 2014 at 2:39 pm
This is an excellent topic and long overdue. Musseques are a part of Angolan life and I, as an occasional visitor to Luanda by ship, have watched them change and have lectured on them to our passengers. They are the reality now for three generations and have to be addressed as real vibrant and successful self help communities. They are not “slums” which are economically vibrant areas in decline. These are rising areas where people have done extremely well under the circumstances. Economic development aid, land titles, secure ownership, water, and roads are the obligation of the government, not just a favor granted to garner votes. The international community must accept Musseques as the new urban villages. The Papacy and its dishonorable treatment of the former church lands and the bulldozing of people’s homes must be redressed. The Papacy, in fact, should be held accountable and required to give development aid and recompense. Good topic to bring forward.
Olga Stavrakis, Ph.D.