Lubango - The First Lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, Friday in Lubango, southern Huila province, urged the population of Toco to participate actively in the implementation of the Programme for Integrated Community Development (PDIC) , whose aim is to improve social conditions of the community.
The patron of the Ngana Zenza Foundation, an organisation that is developing the programme in the locality of Toco, 35 kilometres away from Lubango city, said the continuous participation and monitoring are fundamental for the programme's success.
"If they don't get involved, we won't be able to do anything. We know that we can count on the support of the provincial government and the contribution of those who live in Toco is also necessary," the First Lady said.
According to the First Lady, the Ngana Zenza Foundation will not solve all the problems, but will help the traditional and religious authorities and the State represented in the village to minimise the difficulties faced by the community.
Dias Lourenço said that she is currently mobilising material and financial resources to start practical actions on the ground, with a view to solving the problems identified, a process that began with the installation of a unit to implement the Programme in Lubango.
In a first phase, the First Lady said, the programme will work together with the community to define priorities for the two implementation phases.
MRs Lourenço spoke of the need for the engagement and participation of the entire population of the village, particularly young people, traditional authorities and the State representatives who will implement the initiative.
The First Lady said the aim is to create conditions for the life of the population to improve, starting with the children, enabling them to receive assistance, vaccines, good food and schooling.
"We intend that the mothers, when they go to the Km 40 market, with their produce, don't need to take their children with them and we are going to create some points so that the children are looked after by other mothers in the community", Mrs Lourenço said.
The First Lady added that women of the locality, who represent the majority in the village, will be taught on how they can improve life in the family, look after the children, read and write, create a mentality in which each one will know how to defend her life and their offspring.
Ana Dias Lourenço showed concern about the distance that separates the various villages of the sector, having requested a study with the Toco authorities to learn how to improve the planning and distribution of people in the locality, without putting into question the traditional and cultural aspects.
The Toco Integrated Community Development Programme (PDIC), of the Ngana Zenza Foundation, led by the First Lady, Ana Dias Lourenço, will be implemented until 2025 and plans to support 3,887 families, which corresponds to 18,282 people in the locality.
The First Lady concluded a two-day visit to Huila, which started on Thursday with the launch of the Toco Community and Integrated Development Programme, the Foundation's first project.
