A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Lobito that was inundated with 70 cm (2 ft) of mud and water.
LUANDA,
Angola—Beginning on March 11, 2015, torrential rains triggered floods
that killed 85 people and destroyed 119 homes in the province of
Benguela, located some 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital of
Luanda. The branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Angola reported that
no Witnesses were killed, but 11 of the Witnesses’ homes were destroyed
or severely damaged. In Lobito, one Kingdom Hall—a local house of
worship—also sustained flood damage.
On the morning
following the rainstorm, the Witnesses established a disaster relief
committee to assess the damage and organize relief assistance. The
Witnesses provided aid to both their fellow worshippers and
non-Witnesses in the affected area. At the Kingdom Hall in Lobito,
volunteers removed 70 centimeters (2 feet) of mud and water and
completed other repairs in time to hold one of a series of special
meetings on the weekend following the destructive rains. Representatives
of the Angola branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses traveled to the
meetings from Luanda, providing spiritual comfort and encouragement to
the local Witnesses.
Local Witness volunteers cleaned and repaired a damaged Kingdom Hall in Lobito.
A spokesman for
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Angola, Todd Peckham, states: “We empathize with
all who are recovering from the devastation of these floods. The branch
office in Angola will continue to oversee the work of the disaster
relief committee and provide support to those in the community.”
Media Contact(s):
International: J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5000
Angola: Todd Peckham, tel. +244 222 460 192