A Beautiful Testament to Sino-Angolan Friendship

On June 28, in Huambo, students of the Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School participated in a ceremony celebrating the tenth anniversary of the handover of the school, built with Chinese aid, and the completion of renovation works.

"I am very proud to work at this school. Over the past decade, thousands of children have received compulsory education at this school, named 'Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School.' Many of them have now become doctors, engineers, and teachers, contributing to Angola's national development. This school is a beautiful testament to the friendship between Angola and China," said Deolindo Dungula, an English teacher at the Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School.

Ten years ago, to implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the Chinese government funded the construction of the Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School in Huambo Province, central Angola. The school was built and handed over by China Railway 17th Bureau Group. A decade later, the Chinese Embassy in Angola and China Railway 20th Bureau Group completed renovation work on the school: the exterior walls were repainted in bright red and yellow; the school's eight classrooms, four teacher offices, and cafeteria were refurbished; and the electrical circuits, water pipes, and generator were maintained.

On the 28th, a ceremony celebrating the tenth anniversary of the handover of the Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School and the completion of the renovation project was held at the school. Dozens of children from the Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School received books and stationery donated by the Chinese Embassy. Under the teachers' organization, the children, holding the national flags of China and Angola, lined up and sang songs.

The Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School is located in the Lousambo area of Huambo, about ten kilometers from the southern edge of the city and the airport. Dungula said that the area where the school is located is economically underdeveloped, and the school has admitted many children from poor families in Lousambo and surrounding areas.

Fifty-year-old Dungula has worked at the Sino-Angolan Friendship Primary School for a full ten years. "The children no longer have to walk seven or eight kilometers to school, and many children no longer drop out because the school is too far away. As a teacher here, nothing is more gratifying than seeing such changes," he said.

At the ceremony, the school's principal, Ataide Etenba, said that in the 2023-2024 school year, the school enrolled 700 students from grades one through nine. Over the past ten years since the school opened, more than 7,000 students have attended the school. "The Chinese Embassy and companies have continuously provided us with assistance. We must commend China for its contributions to cultivating the next generation of talent in Angola," Etenba said.

In his speech at the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Angola Zhang Bin said that for decades, China and Angola have always been good partners and brothers, united in mutual assistance and advancing hand in hand. China's concern and support for the Friendship Primary School and the development of Angola's education sector have never ceased, reflecting the close cooperation and friendship between China and Angola.

"Over the decades, China's assistance to Angola's education sector has strengthened the friendship between the two countries and enhanced mutual understanding between the peoples of the two nations. Angola greatly values its cooperation with China in the field of talent development," said Mário Rodrigues, Director of the Office of the Education Department of the Huambo Provincial Government.

Source: Xinhua News Agency< https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/p/04JIG52R.html>