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Ongoing National Solidarity Week in Angola Fostering “love, compassion, hope”: Caritas Official

João Vissesse

By João Vissesse

Luanda, 20 March, 2025 / 8:34 pm (ACI Africa).

The ongoing National Solidarity Week in Angola is fostering love, compassion, and hope through various charitable initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable communities, the National Secretary of Caritas Angola has said.

In an interview with ACI Africa on Tuesday, March 18, João Nicolau Manuel weighed in on the March 16-22 Solidarity Week, an initiative of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST), which is aimed at strengthening Christian charity.

This year’s theme, “In Small Acts of Solidarity Lies Human Greatness,” is intended to inspire individuals to share what they have with those in need.

“During this National Solidarity Week, we expect parishes, centers, and missions, through strong mobilization, to gather small items such as food, medicine, used but well-preserved clothing, and everything that is useful and necessary to ensure the overall well-being of another human being,” João Nicolau told ACI Africa.

He added, “To make these activities possible, it is essential and indispensable to integrate people who, identifying with the cause, can donate their strength and time to collect these goods and deliver them to the locations identified by each diocese within its local mapping.”

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“Let us spread love, compassion, and hope, especially to those responsible for public policies, so that these policies are not only written but effectively implemented and reach every citizen,” the Caritas official said.

João Nicolau emphasized that each Diocese is responsible for identifying the most vulnerable communities.

“There are no specific communities designated to receive these goods since each diocese is responsible for identifying the most extreme needs and distributing the donations accordingly,” he said.

João Nicolau added, ““The goods collected this week will be directed to the province’s leprosy center. In other words, this is a humanitarian action that will culminate in the result of everything gathered in this locality. Likewise, each Diocese and Archdiocese is directly responsible for what it collects and for identifying the most urgent needs to allocate aid,”

He further said, “The National Solidarity Week is gaining ground in all our conference’s churches, as our faithful have come to understand the importance of this act of love for one’s neighbor.”

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João Nicolau invited individuals and institutions to participate in solidarity efforts, saying, “Anyone who feels moved by our appeal and wishes to donate—whether food, used clothing, medicine, or any other useful item for a family or person in need—is welcome to participate. There are no restrictions. And the best thing we can share is love.”

The Caritas official added, “If we have love to give, and that love translates into something useful for others, it would be a great joy for all of us. This week, we seek to live solidarity more intensely—to make solidarity our true way of life between the second and third Sundays of Lent.”

“We continue to hope that external donors will contribute, which has become one of the great challenges, especially in a time like this, when external humanitarian aid is dwindling and losing strength more and more,” he said.

João Nicolau implored, “May the solidarity we are promoting become a permanent value in the lives of all those with social and religious responsibilities at all levels. May we ensure hope for a better world and a better life for those who, daily, cry out for an opportunity to smile.”

João Vissesse

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate. 

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