Angola, soccer and basketball courts
to combat school dropout

LUANDA- Early school leaving in Angola is a widespread phenomenon and closely linked to the state of poverty in which the vast majority of the country’s population and in particular of its capital (Luanda) finds itself living. Moreover, the inadequacy of the educational system, due to schools with educational material reduced to a minimum or non-existent, to teachers with a low level of preparation and the poor quality of the Angolan education system, must be considered as another of the most significant causes for the boys’ disaffection with school. In Luanda, the student / class ratio available is 133 students per class, which forces students to organize lessons in three shifts; each teacher, therefore, has an average of 44.5 students. As a percentage, compared to the state budget, public spending for education in Luanda is at 2.8%, however such percentage does not receive substantial changes if we take into consideration the entire Angolan territory.

The commitment of Vis. The VIS , along with two exceptional testimonials such as Rino Gattuso and Danilo Gallinari – the first soccer world champion in 2006, the other NBA basketball star – is working to support a project in Angola for children at risk and street kids, starting from school and playing. A soccer field and a basketball basket can be improvised anywhere, so two simple sports were chosen, adaptable to every situation and to every language. Even in the most remote outskirts of Luanda, children perfectly know the names of the most famous footballers and basketball players. Seven structures that will house daycare centers, day and night shelters to offer a safe place for children at risk and street children in Luanda. It is an ambitious project that needs everyone’s contribution.

Illiteracy- The illiteracy rate of the adult population – people aged 15 and over – is on average 58%, but it is much higher in some regions such as, for example, in the Northern Luanda province where 85% of the adult population it is not able to read and write. Furthermore, the level of illiteracy is higher among women, with a national average of 72% against 44% of men; this, in addition to penalizing women and placing them on an objective inferiority level, also has repercussions on the effectiveness and understanding of health campaign prevention and education messages, on maternal and child health status, on improving family hygiene conditions, in the which the female component plays a primary role.

A future compromise. The UNDP Human Development Report in recent years reveals that 47% of the population between the ages of 5 and 23 did not attend school last school year, and 16% of them never attended school. An analysis of the enrollment rate in primary school shows that the school-age delay in Angola is worrying, in fact, 71% of the total school age population is not registered. The immediate consequence of this lack of access to primary school is the growth of illiteracy from a young age; this constitutes not only a serious setback with respect to the effort made in the 70s and 80s – a period in which access to education for the Angolan population was encouraged – but seriously compromises the future of the country itself.

(November 22, 2010)