For this month’s newsletter article, Nola tells us about Condega, the main town in the rural area of Pire where most of our scholarship students live.
The population of Condega itself is about 7,000-8,000, but the region of Pire includes many surrounding smaller villages and communities which makes the total population close to 30,000 people. Most people who live in the area are farmers and work very hard growing beans and corn to support their families.
Condega is the center of Pire where most of the students and their families come to buy supplies and food. The city has a central park, baseball stadium, soccer field, a few restaurants, and a rather new grocery store. Previously people would go to their smaller neighborhood family owned stores, but more people are travelling into Condega to buy what they need. Condega also has several internet cafes where the students come from their rural communities to do homework and research for their studies. Most of the people here are Catholic, and there is a Catholic church near the central park; with the growth of the area a new Catholic church has been built to serve the smaller communities on the northern and eastern areas of the town. There are also other small churches of various religions, including Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Baptist, and Jehovah Witness.
Condega is called the Land of the Potters and is known for pottery. In our museum there are many old pottery artifacts that have been excavated in the area. A replica of one is in our main park and also is the symbol for Condega – see the photo below of the large footed bowl. There is a woman’s pottery group in a neighboring community of Ducuali Grande that makes beautiful pottery and is quite famous. We also have an airplane park with an actual plane which was shot down during the civil war and dragged up from the river. Citizens have even built a small tower to walk up to and gaze at the lovely view of Condega and the surrounding area.
I could go on and on, but this is a brief description to share with you.
Come and visit!