VGR - Angola

Angola

Contact Information

Office Contact:

Aristides Eurico

Office Address:

A Voz De Deus - Luanda
B.P. 6015
Rua Josefina Bakita, Sector 12
Bairro Sapú, Distrito Urbano de Kilamba-Kiaxi, Municipío De Luanda
Luanda
ANGOLA

Business: 244 92 13 50 155
Email: angola@vgroffice.org

Country Demographics

Capital:
Luanda

Population:
19,088,106

Languages:
Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages

Religion:
Indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.)

Life Expectancy:
52

GDP per-capita:
5,668

Of interest:
Angola is still rebuilding its country since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but fighting picked up again in 1993. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - during the more than a quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and cemented the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS pushed through a new constitution in 2010; elections held in 2012 saw him installed as president.

Angola's high growth rate in recent years was driven by high international prices for its oil. Angola became a member of OPEC in late 2006 and its current assigned a production quota of 1.65 million barrels a day (bbl/day). Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 85% of GDP. Diamond exports contribute an additional 5%. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food is still imported. Increased oil production supported growth averaging more than 17% per year from 2004 to 2008. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Land mines left from the war still mar the countryside, even though peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Since 2005, the government has used billions of dollars in credit lines from China, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Spain, and the EU to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure. The global recession that started in 2008 temporarily stalled economic growth. Lower prices for oil and diamonds during the global recession slowed GDP growth to 2.4% in 2009, and many construction projects stopped because Luanda accrued $9 billion in arrears to foreign construction companies when government revenue fell in 2008 and 2009. Angola abandoned its currency peg in 2009, and in November 2009 signed onto an IMF Stand-By Arrangement loan of $1.4 billion to rebuild international reserves. Consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to about 10% in 2012. Higher oil prices have helped Angola turn a budget deficit of 8.6% of GDP in 2009 into an surplus of 12% of GDP in 2012. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, also is a major challenge

Office Staff

Aristides Eurico

Office Manager

Manager History:

Brother Aristides was born in Angola. He came to know the Message when he was 14 years old.

There were not many Portuguese books available in 1996, but there was a small library in a church where you could borrow a Message book for one week to read. The first Message he read was “In His Presence”. He liked it so much that he went back after one week, and he asked to keep it for an additional week to read it again.

About 3 years later, he heard his first Tape of Brother Branham, “God’s Chosen Place of Worship”. He listened to the Tape over and over again. It was a great privilege for him to hear the Voice of Brother Branham for the first time.

He spent many years in Windhoek, Namibia where he played Tapes of Brother Branham publicly. Many people accepted the Message with these Evangelization campaigns. He later moved to the city of Oshikango, near the southern border of Angola, where he established a small library to serve for missionary purposes and promoting the Message of Brother Branham.

Office History

The work of Voice of God Recordings in Angola started in 1991-1992. Today, if we look at where VGR stands in the entire country of Angola, we can easily compare its growth to the water Lilly, who battles through the mud, dirty water and everything else, to finnally arrive in full bloom under the sun.

Angola was in a fullscale civil war from the nineties until 2002. But the work kept growing through these very hard times.

We were like nomads at that time, providing our services from place to place, neighborhood to neighborhood, district to district, not being able to have our own place. The payments for the rents and all charges for the operations were assumed completely by a local minister.

In 1998, during the visit of a VGR brother, sent by Brother Joseph Branham, a meeting was organized with a great number of servants of God at hotel Don Miguel in Luanda. This established solidly VGR in Angola and Brother Kamalandua as the VGR representative in Angola.

Later in 2012, the war ended and the VGR materials were able to circulate everywhere through the Republic of Angola, from North to South, East to West, without any restriction. From that time, it was decided that for a better organization, the country was to be divided in regions in order to achieve the the distribution of materials more efficiently. Starting from the capital Luanda, the “Spritual Food In Due Season” would reach the hands of the believers in the areas of Cabinda, Uige, Lubango, Lunda Norte North and Lunda Norte South.

In 2005, we received, from Brother Joseph Branham, a container of forty feet, full of materials including enormous quantities of booklets on French and Portuguese, audio players, CD MP3s containing the sermons of the prophet William Marrion Branham.