Orthopedics in the Rough - A Doctor's Story

(From visiting doctor to the CEML Hospital, Dr. Nicholas Comninellis) Senhor Eduardo was riding his tiny motor cycle down one of Angola’s “unimproved” roads when he struck a pot hole and landed on a boulder.  What results was the injury in this X-ray above. Most concerning is that this fracture occurred five months ago. Eduardo was treated with 3 months flat on his back in traction to hold the bones in position for healing.  This 1950’s style orthopedic management is usually successful. But in Eduardo’s case the fracture failed to healed.


Last night I took a break from my normal public health and primary care duties to assist our surgeon, Annelise Olsen, with an internal fixation of this fracture.  Four hours later the bones were properly aligned with screws and a metal plate.  Add a couple of months to heal, plus some physical therapy, and chances are that Eduardo will be once again be able to walk on this leg.  He’s a very fortunate man, for such standard surgical orthopedic therapy is essentially unavailable in this nation. (www.inmed.us)

Angola's Olympians - Taking Pride in Sport

Angola debuted as a participant in the Olympic Games five years after the proclamation of its independence on November 11th, 1975. The first appearance was in the summer of 1980 in Moscow, the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Since then, Angola has been present at all Olympic competitions, held every four years, except in Los Angeles in 1984.

Angola was not present in the U.S. city of Los Angeles in solidarity with all the countries that boycotted in retaliation for similar actions taken by the United States and its allies against the Olympics in Moscow, under the East-West confrontation of the time.  Angola emerged in the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 and thereafter has participated in every Olympic games already made (Barcelona, in 1992, Atlanta, in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008).

Athletics, swimming and boxing were the Angolan sport specialities since the first Angolan presence in Moscow, to which followed male and female handball, male and female basketball, canoeing, judo, beach volleyball and also shooting.  Angolan Shooting made its debut in 2000, in the Sydney Olympics.  Canoeing made its appearance in Beijing in 2008, with the skilled Angolan athlete Domingos Fortunato. The beach volleyball was another sport that made its debut in China's capital.

Among the hundreds of athletes who have represented Angola in various sports, the highlight goes to the runner João Ntyamba and the swimmer Nádia Cruz, who have the record in Olympic Game presences. With his presence in the Beijing Olympic Marathon, João Ntyamba became the first athlete to participate in six Olympics, who premiered in Seoul in 1988.  On the other hand, Nádia Cruz represented Angola in Swimming in four Olympic Games: Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney, where in the latter city she was the flag bearer of the Angolan delegation.

London 2012 is the eighth presence of Angola in the Olympic Games in various sports, without having won any medals yet. In the British capital, Angolans have some hope especially in handball and basketball, both feminine, which are the current champions and representatives of the African continent.

After the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games (for the disabled), which as usual take place in the same city, will occur in London from August 29th to September 9th, and for which Angola has its eyes on being successful. Taking into account some successes already achieved in previous Games, the Angolan participation was the subject of careful preparation, involving the training of the nine athletes selected (Athletics and Swimming) in the High Performance Centre in Pretoria (South Africa), competition in the International Athletics Meeting in Tunisia and other stages in Portugal, Cuba and in a high performance center in the host country.

The goal set by the Angolan Paralympic Committee is to win medals, like in other occasions, especially in the 2004 Athens Games, where Angolan sprinter José Armando Sayovo won three gold medals and set records in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, such achievement led the Secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, to designate him as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Solidarity Causes.  Here's to the success of Angola at these upcoming Olympic Games in London.  (TAAG Austral Magazine)

Angola's Boy Scouts - "Always Alert"

Luanda - At least 20,000 Boy Scouts are registered in Angolan religious entities and they have been working everyday towards to the Angolan community's well-being.

These remarks were uttered recently by the head of the Angolan National Scouting Movement, António Silvestre Sardinha, when welcoming 2.000 delegates from 21 African countries to attend the 15th African conference on scouting in Angola's capital Luanda,  from June 7-9.  The event was attended by high-ranked figures of scounting, namely the African regional director Frederic Kama-Kama, secretary-general of scouting movement, Luc Panissod and the chairman of the world scouting committee, Simon Rhee.

The 15th African Conference on Scouting in Luanda was focused on the theme “Scouting, a vehicle for Africa’s development”, and debated the implementation of policies and guidelines defined in the World Conference for National Associations of Scouting. The conference also debated the goals and programmes for the coming mandate, as well as training actions under the programme of the Angolan government. 

Angolan Scouting was widespread in colonial years, working closely with Portugal's Catholic Corpo National de Escutas.  When Angola gained its independence in 1975 and came under Marxist rule, Scouting was banned by that government.  Scouting was officially started again in February 1991.  In 1994, the inter-religious Associação National de Escuteiros and the Catholic Associação de Escuteiros Católicas de Angola merged forming the AEA.  Scouting includes an inter-religious pastoral commission which brings together the main religions represented by the members of the Scout Association. 

Scouting in Angola enjoys special support from the Catholic Church and some groups are closely linked to the church, and excellent relations exist with UN agencies. Together with UNICEF, Scouting has been in the forefront of the campaign for children's immunization against polio. Scouting activities focus on improving the quality of life in local communities. These include humanitarian assistance to those who have fled armed conflict, working with UNICEF on Oral Rehydration Therapy programs, and an anti-polio campaign led by the Ministry of Health. (ANGOP, Google)

African Folklore: Why Elephant Has a Trunk

(A traditional tale common to several tribal groups in southern Africa)  In the beginning of time, the Creator brought forth all the animals of the bush and birds and insects of the air from the roots of a huge baobab tree. Most of the creatures look the same as they did then, but some have changed in appearance sine the time of creation.

One such animal is Elephant, who originally did not possess a trunk but a pig-like snout instead.  Feeding was a constant problem for such a large, thick-set animal and it seemed that Elephant had to ear non-stop morning noon and night to satisfy the needs of his enormous body.  Drinking was even more complicated as Elephant had to kneel at the water hole and gulp down great mouthfuls of water to quench his thirst. Both eating and drinking were laborious and time-consuming.

One day a group of elephants trekked a long way from their feeding grounds to a distant water hole; the long dry season had dried up most of the smaller pans and springs.  This water hole was the home of a hug he, old crocodile who had gone without food for a long time and was feeling particularly hungry on that day.

When Crocodile saw the herd approaching, he slipped quietly from the sandbank, where he had been sunning himself, into the murky water.  Swimming slowly along, with just his eyes and nostrils showing above the surface, Crocodile cruised over to where he knew the elephants would drink, without making a ripple on the pool's smooth surface.  Not even the inquisitive vervet monkey, feeding high in the nearby trees, saw him swim to where he lay in ambush.

The elephants made their way down the well-trodden game trail to the sand beach.  There they laboriously sank to their knees and started to gulp down the refreshing water.  Crocodile saw his opportunity, and with a huge splash he lunged with terrifying speed at the young bull elephant drinking closest to him.

USA: Angola's Silent Partner

The advance in relations between Angola and the United States has been “fairly incredible” in the barely two decades since diplomatic recognition, says US Ambassador Christopher J. McMullen, who took up his post in March last year.

“The first Africans to reach the territory which comprises the United States today were slaves coming from Angola,” says Maria da Cruz Gabriel, executive director of the US-Angola Chamber of (USACC). “They became part of the first permanent English settlement in Virginia. This common historical past should be seen as an asset to bring US and Angola co-operation even closer in today’s world.”  
Whereas other countries’ involvement in Angola’s reconstruction such as that of China, Brazil and Portugal, is highly visible in road, rail, construction, and airports, American efforts are often “under the radar”, McMullen believes.  The ambassador likes to think of the US as Angola’s “valued-added, silent partner”, involved in top-end economic partnerships which affect the whole economic strata.

McMullen is anxious to point out that American relations with the Angolan people go back much further than the period of the Independence struggle. Indeed, they go back many centuries.

Ambassador McMullen outlined three major elements contributing to the solidity of the relationship. First of all, the American missionaries who went to Angola in the early 1800s and cemented “people-to-people” connections.

An important consequence of these missions was to bring literacy and educational opportunities to a broad spectrum of Angolan society. The late President Agostinho Neto’s father was a Protestant pastor, and a New York- based missionary board granted Neto himself a scholarship in 1947 to study medicine.

Angola's Shipwreck Beach

Some 20 miles north of Angola's capital, Luanda, lies a stretch of beach that is an eerie resting place for 20 + derelict and rusting ships.   Known by locals as Praia da Santiago or Praia do Sarico, the 1.5 mile stretch of beach is better known as Shipwreck Beach or Karl Marx Beach, named after the biggest shipwreck on the beach.  Off shore and along this stretch of beach are dozens of rusting hulks of  tankers, cargo ships and fishing vessels.   Many legends have been passed along concerning how the large ships mysteriously arrived there.  But in reality, with the absence of salvage facilities, the most likely explanations for this site is that the ships were removed from Luanda harbor after being unseaworthy.   Either the ships were intentionally grounded onshore on this beach or their offshore moorings rusted through and the tide and currents pushed them ashore.   Truly an incredibly photogenic spot.