Noelma Viegas D’Abreu was born in Luanda to a mother
from Cuanza-Sul and a father from Benguela. Today she is the result of her
experiences. She admits to recalling her childhood days through the coffee
plant she planted in the garden, in memory of her grandmother, who was a coffee
farmer. The Angolan explains that her adolescence was «uneventful» and had
«funny stories», but from the age of 17 everything changed. Her studies became
central to her life and years later she graduated in Psychology, specialising
in Clinical Psychology. Always with a view to improving people’s lives, Noelma
decided to dedicate herself to another approach and is currently the executive
administrator of the BAI Academy.
We know that you were born in Luanda. Tell us about your childhood/teenage experiences and memories.
I was born in Luanda, to a mother from Cuanza-Sul and a father from Benguela. I am the granddaughter of coffee farmers and, although they are not long, the memories are very good ones and give me both a feeling of a happy childhood and the desire to preserve the smell of coffee. I have already planted a coffee tree in my garden for this reason, in memory of my grandmother. Sometimes I think a lot of memories are rather told than lived.
As for my adolescence, it was a normal life, without any great upsets, but with funny stories of get-togethers with groups of people and going to backyard parties. I was taken by my father or some of my friends’ parents. They had to take turns driving us to parties as there were no taxis, Uber or public transport to get us around.In addition, there was still a curfew, that is, a time limit prohibiting movement on the streets, with exceptions only being allowed for those with a free pass. This way, only a few parents could drive around, and they ended up being the ones in charge of staying awake to collect us. Later, at the age of 17, I went to live abroad and everything changed. The aim was to study and, in fact, with the right dedication, I managed to achieve my wish and the result my parents expected.
You have always enjoyed listening to stories. Was this one of the reasons that led you to pursue clinical psychology?
I enjoy listening to and telling stories, but I also enjoy reading them and in fact, I started reading from a very early age. I was interested in the stories of old families and matters of society, and of course the Brazilian books by Jorge Amado and José Mauro de Vasconcelos may have contributed to the increase in curiosity and in the wish to understand some of life’s events. But the reason for choosing clinical psychology had to do with a very early curiosity to understand people’s behaviour, their anxieties, frustrations and fears. To this I add another characteristic in me, which is a great desire to improve people’s lives. So, these are the motivations that today naturally make me want to continue to contribute to this improvement in people’s lives. Even though I haven’t practised for more than ten years, I try to be useful in the pursuit of improvement through education. That is how I came to consultancy and human resources management and to business management, where I am today. As a manager, I take advantage of much of what I learnt in medicine and clinical psychology, putting myself at the service of management, especially in managing the relationship between people in organisations. In any event, in order to be able to manage, I also had to chart a career highly decicated to learning about strategic business management, accounting and finance. In fact, I had to do more differentiated training in these areas, as I felt the need.
You practised psychology in Portugal and in Berlin. Then you decided to move to Luanda. Did you notice any difference in the receptiveness to this field by Angolans, compared to abroad?
I think I was surprised by two major differences. One related to the solidarity and magnanimous altruism of friends, who came together to support friends undergoing psychotherapy. I had never seen such a thing happening in any other context; I had only seen this support in other countries, in the very restricted context of nuclear families or even of non-governmental organisations, like the one I worked at in Berlin. The other difference, but less positive, was meeting patients in public places and realising their difficulty in dealing with the situation, almost as if they were at fault. In the latter case, I believe it is the fear of being found out or lack of secrecy that is the biggest concern among us. Confidentiality and the preservation of professional secrecy are fundamental, so this should be a concern and one of the main values of professionals in this field, since they should look after people in such a way that they can trust and feel safe. Only in this way can the clinical psychologist effectively help and be valued. Overall, they were always different experiences in different contexts of countries and societies, but very rewarding. I really enjoy the clinical practice. Although it has a lot of emotional exposure, I was very happy whenever I did good for others.
«We need to raise education in terms of of positive masculinity and conscious fatherhood»
Are mental illnesses still taboo nowadays?
I think not as much as they were in the past, but they are still difficult to accept and to deal with for some people and families, who prefer not to assume they exist and are real. For many, when it comes to addictions, from alcoholism to hard drug addiction, it is hard because they feel they may not be accepted socially. These are issues to which we are not paying enough attention and this is very serious and grave matter. Otherwise, psychiatric medicine and clinical psychology have evolved a lot and there are very good resources. We must not forget that the commitments that used to take place in the past have been replaced by medication and psychotherapy, which has freed the mentally ill from the so-called madhouses. However, in countries like ours, where there is a collective unconscious with war memories and such deep traumas, mental health should be a concern worthy of special dedication at the highest level, both in the creation of policies that can support the creation of solutions, such as support centres, and in the training of professionals to serve in key areas of society.
Have the values of Angolan society undergone changes? If so, in what way?
Our society has been going through turbulent times, from war to family displacements, transhumance of populations and a sharp and uncontrolled increase in the population. These aspects have a strong impact on the society we have today. All these are aspects to be taken into consideration. We need to pay serious attention to the harmony, psychological health and social framework of the families. The passing on of values requires coherence, consistency, a lot of dedication and positive feelings.
Now, changes have been experienced everywhere, the world has been changing at an accelerated rate and it is unlikely that the speed will slow down. The most important thing for me is not the change, but what is changing, how it is changing and how we are dealing with it in our society. We need to understand whether the changes have brought us benefits or just chaos. It is very important that we can understand and value the importance of a strong sense of belonging, balanced egos, well-managed emotions and respect for others, with beliefs that stimulate development and considered and coherent goals.
While continuing to deal with people, you have adapted to a different context, today managing the BAI Academy. What does the Academy give to the Angolan community?
We like to believe that it is the place where knowledge is given and shared. If each of these people who came, listened, participated, took home a concept, an experience, an ability to question «truths», internalised what was transmitted and then shared it, then we influence so many others in their homes. Thus, we indirectly disseminate knowledge, boosting Mandela’s maxim: «Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.»
Jim Collins, American professor at Stanford University and scholar of behaviour in large companies, states in his book Good to Great, that «we don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, because the vast majority become quite good – and that is their main problem.» Extrapolating this approach to Angola and particularly to the BAI Academy, we strive to be more than a good project, and rather an institution that privileges quality as a natural condition, a characteristic, a culture and an ethos that sets us apart from others. We pursue goals with a permanent focus on quality and we can point out that this philosophy or culture of the organisation is valid both for internal well-being and for the way we serve our clients. We have quality certifications, such as a Great Place to Work and ISO 9001. The main concern we have is the development of skills to help create leaders and successors with a vision, a strategy and imbued with a sense of patriotism, commitment, rigour and principles and, therefore, capable of contributing towards companies, organisations and the state being more efficient, competitive and, consequently, so that our country becomes a place with more educated, qualified, ethical people with good management practices and optimised use of resources to ensure sustainable development.
And what are the future plans of the Foundation and the BAI Academy?
When we question employees and other stakeholders, they end up considering that the Academy is feminine. We believe that yes, the fruitfulness that has been translated into so many achievements and growth is feminine. When I speak of femininity it is in the sense of the continuity of the life we all know. Fortunately, this is translated into what employees and other stakeholders recognise as the young maturity of an organisation that has implemented, developed actions and realises every day exercises to reduce and eliminate forms of discrimination, from gender parity, diversity of ethnicities and nationalities, as well as acceptance, respect for sexual orientation and respect for differences.
I hope that this «Being», we know as BAI Academy, will continue to give life, light and soul to knowledge, not only in being a guardian of books and dreams, but also as a pursuer of well-being, of a good organisational climate, of good practices and innovative ideas and of the relentless quest to transform lives, through technical and behavioural training, academic qualifications and culture, so that these, in turn, transform neighbourhoods, cities, society and the economy. Based on this principle, which also represents the possibility of the continuity of life and natural succession, what has been built so far may continue with others, in critical functions and functions which allow the BAI Academy to effectively be alive and to endure far beyond these ten years that have already passed. For this reason, we will not remain «prisoners» of our achievements, but we need to keep our gaze turned towards the future and to set goals, assuming «a commitment to the future», with the people, education, Angola, Portuguese-speaking nations and the world. Today, we also have the responsibility of managing the BAI Foundation. This foundational character that we have chosen leads us to have to design a strategy that contributes to the achievement and promotion of greater social welfare and that serves to transform lives through education, in that our pillars of action are precisely education, culture, health and sports. In this sense, our vision is to be a leading institution, contributing to the construction of a fair and compassionate society, disseminating values of active citizenship, collective awareness and inclusion.
Our motto is one of commitment to the future, since we are the «BAI Academy, an academy of life and for life».
«I am worried about the lack of employment and the consequent poverty and social inequality»
What motivated you to write the book Entre Sonhos e Delírios (Between Dreams and Delusions)?
Having things to share and the memory of the recurring recommendation. And, also, the influence of a good reference for me, translated into altruism and wisdom. I am talking about Monsenhor Cachadinha, the former director of the Library of the Universidade Católica, the university where I worked as a professor for some years, but also as Executive Director of the Centre for Studies and Scientific Research. He was one of those people who most often told me: «Noelma, articles and texts published in magazines and newspapers are lost in history because they are dated and we throw away the magazine of that week or month. Your articles must not be lost in that way.» So, after much consideration, I thought it was time to get down to work, organise them so that they make sense, creating a thread. I decided to compile at least one set of them. But I have many.
Enlighten us, where does dreaming end and delusion begin?
The dream manifests itself as the art or exercise of keeping your sleep, but also as the desire for the making dreams come true, which, when well «dreamed», when they have a good concept, foundation and if the right people are involved, manage to be implemented. Delusion is the escape from reality. My book, in fact, mirrors the crescendo of the topics, as they were organised evolving from neuroses to psychoses and it is these that represent the escape from reality. So, I start with articles relating to the history of psychotherapy itself, its practices, the ethics of psychotherapists and the methodologies used. It then goes through the more neurotic psychological disorders, existential topics and ends with an article on suicide. It was a very rewarding work because, to write the articles, I had to read or reread many books, not only technical ones, but also literature. I used some characters from literature and from stories in books as examples or illustration of symptoms. When writing about incest, for example, I used the characters from Os Maias, by Eça de Queiroz - Maria Eduarda and Carlos Eduardo - to approach the topic of anguish, frustration and evil. In short, there are over 300 pages that allow a journey through literature and the world of psychology.
As an Angolan woman, what do you think has not been done to mitigate the effects of gender inequality?
I believe that we still have a lot of hard work to do in areas such as the fight for family planning, as well as early pregnancy and unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, which causes death, illnesses and leads to reduced school attendance and poverty. On the other hand, domestic violence against women, rape of minors and serious penalisation of the perpetrators of these practices. We also need to raise education in terms of positive masculinity and conscious fatherhood.
I consider that gender parity, already represented in decisive state bodies, is very important, and I am hopeful that it will represent greater attention and action in solving the problems mentioned above.
What worries you about the future of the country and the world?
I am worried about the lack of employment and the consequent poverty and social inequality, as well as the need for more education, more training, more capacity building of staff and their inclusion in the right places for the promotion of economic and social development. Angola has evolved, but at a relatively slower rate than would be desirable and than we need. Angola's population is growing exponentially. Our fertility rate is among the highest in the world, but our capacity for production and food self-sufficiency and the main development indices are still among the lowest in the world, when our natural resources are among the highest. So, this means that we have not yet been able to work these resources and put them at our service, benefiting the whole of society. Even when we have had high growth rates, the resources have not been efficiently invested, and the much desired diversification of the economy has not taken place.
I am also concerned about the lack of quality information and the role of disinformation that social networks have been playing in our country. They foster intrigue and defamation; people’s good names are abused and vilified, without any legal or criminal consequence. This is another aspect of education, information and personal data management and security that concerns me and that I think we have to take better care of.
We are celebrating the 13th anniversary of Villas&Golfe magazine, in Angola. What have these last years represented for you in your life and in the country?
For my life they represented years of learning about many subjects and of life experience, of growth and maturity, as well as of social contribution to the development of the organisations in which I worked. For my country, I also consider them to have been years of evolution in several senses, from its growth to significant changes, but still short of what we need and of the speed that would be desirable. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful that the common good is our concern and that each of us can contribute to improving the lives of Angolans on a daily basis.
We know that you were born in Luanda. Tell us about your childhood/teenage experiences and memories.
I was born in Luanda, to a mother from Cuanza-Sul and a father from Benguela. I am the granddaughter of coffee farmers and, although they are not long, the memories are very good ones and give me both a feeling of a happy childhood and the desire to preserve the smell of coffee. I have already planted a coffee tree in my garden for this reason, in memory of my grandmother. Sometimes I think a lot of memories are rather told than lived.
As for my adolescence, it was a normal life, without any great upsets, but with funny stories of get-togethers with groups of people and going to backyard parties. I was taken by my father or some of my friends’ parents. They had to take turns driving us to parties as there were no taxis, Uber or public transport to get us around.In addition, there was still a curfew, that is, a time limit prohibiting movement on the streets, with exceptions only being allowed for those with a free pass. This way, only a few parents could drive around, and they ended up being the ones in charge of staying awake to collect us. Later, at the age of 17, I went to live abroad and everything changed. The aim was to study and, in fact, with the right dedication, I managed to achieve my wish and the result my parents expected.
You have always enjoyed listening to stories. Was this one of the reasons that led you to pursue clinical psychology?
I enjoy listening to and telling stories, but I also enjoy reading them and in fact, I started reading from a very early age. I was interested in the stories of old families and matters of society, and of course the Brazilian books by Jorge Amado and José Mauro de Vasconcelos may have contributed to the increase in curiosity and in the wish to understand some of life’s events. But the reason for choosing clinical psychology had to do with a very early curiosity to understand people’s behaviour, their anxieties, frustrations and fears. To this I add another characteristic in me, which is a great desire to improve people’s lives. So, these are the motivations that today naturally make me want to continue to contribute to this improvement in people’s lives. Even though I haven’t practised for more than ten years, I try to be useful in the pursuit of improvement through education. That is how I came to consultancy and human resources management and to business management, where I am today. As a manager, I take advantage of much of what I learnt in medicine and clinical psychology, putting myself at the service of management, especially in managing the relationship between people in organisations. In any event, in order to be able to manage, I also had to chart a career highly decicated to learning about strategic business management, accounting and finance. In fact, I had to do more differentiated training in these areas, as I felt the need.
You practised psychology in Portugal and in Berlin. Then you decided to move to Luanda. Did you notice any difference in the receptiveness to this field by Angolans, compared to abroad?
I think I was surprised by two major differences. One related to the solidarity and magnanimous altruism of friends, who came together to support friends undergoing psychotherapy. I had never seen such a thing happening in any other context; I had only seen this support in other countries, in the very restricted context of nuclear families or even of non-governmental organisations, like the one I worked at in Berlin. The other difference, but less positive, was meeting patients in public places and realising their difficulty in dealing with the situation, almost as if they were at fault. In the latter case, I believe it is the fear of being found out or lack of secrecy that is the biggest concern among us. Confidentiality and the preservation of professional secrecy are fundamental, so this should be a concern and one of the main values of professionals in this field, since they should look after people in such a way that they can trust and feel safe. Only in this way can the clinical psychologist effectively help and be valued. Overall, they were always different experiences in different contexts of countries and societies, but very rewarding. I really enjoy the clinical practice. Although it has a lot of emotional exposure, I was very happy whenever I did good for others.
«We need to raise education in terms of of positive masculinity and conscious fatherhood»
Are mental illnesses still taboo nowadays?
I think not as much as they were in the past, but they are still difficult to accept and to deal with for some people and families, who prefer not to assume they exist and are real. For many, when it comes to addictions, from alcoholism to hard drug addiction, it is hard because they feel they may not be accepted socially. These are issues to which we are not paying enough attention and this is very serious and grave matter. Otherwise, psychiatric medicine and clinical psychology have evolved a lot and there are very good resources. We must not forget that the commitments that used to take place in the past have been replaced by medication and psychotherapy, which has freed the mentally ill from the so-called madhouses. However, in countries like ours, where there is a collective unconscious with war memories and such deep traumas, mental health should be a concern worthy of special dedication at the highest level, both in the creation of policies that can support the creation of solutions, such as support centres, and in the training of professionals to serve in key areas of society.
Have the values of Angolan society undergone changes? If so, in what way?
Our society has been going through turbulent times, from war to family displacements, transhumance of populations and a sharp and uncontrolled increase in the population. These aspects have a strong impact on the society we have today. All these are aspects to be taken into consideration. We need to pay serious attention to the harmony, psychological health and social framework of the families. The passing on of values requires coherence, consistency, a lot of dedication and positive feelings.
Now, changes have been experienced everywhere, the world has been changing at an accelerated rate and it is unlikely that the speed will slow down. The most important thing for me is not the change, but what is changing, how it is changing and how we are dealing with it in our society. We need to understand whether the changes have brought us benefits or just chaos. It is very important that we can understand and value the importance of a strong sense of belonging, balanced egos, well-managed emotions and respect for others, with beliefs that stimulate development and considered and coherent goals.
While continuing to deal with people, you have adapted to a different context, today managing the BAI Academy. What does the Academy give to the Angolan community?
We like to believe that it is the place where knowledge is given and shared. If each of these people who came, listened, participated, took home a concept, an experience, an ability to question «truths», internalised what was transmitted and then shared it, then we influence so many others in their homes. Thus, we indirectly disseminate knowledge, boosting Mandela’s maxim: «Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.»
Jim Collins, American professor at Stanford University and scholar of behaviour in large companies, states in his book Good to Great, that «we don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, because the vast majority become quite good – and that is their main problem.» Extrapolating this approach to Angola and particularly to the BAI Academy, we strive to be more than a good project, and rather an institution that privileges quality as a natural condition, a characteristic, a culture and an ethos that sets us apart from others. We pursue goals with a permanent focus on quality and we can point out that this philosophy or culture of the organisation is valid both for internal well-being and for the way we serve our clients. We have quality certifications, such as a Great Place to Work and ISO 9001. The main concern we have is the development of skills to help create leaders and successors with a vision, a strategy and imbued with a sense of patriotism, commitment, rigour and principles and, therefore, capable of contributing towards companies, organisations and the state being more efficient, competitive and, consequently, so that our country becomes a place with more educated, qualified, ethical people with good management practices and optimised use of resources to ensure sustainable development.
And what are the future plans of the Foundation and the BAI Academy?
When we question employees and other stakeholders, they end up considering that the Academy is feminine. We believe that yes, the fruitfulness that has been translated into so many achievements and growth is feminine. When I speak of femininity it is in the sense of the continuity of the life we all know. Fortunately, this is translated into what employees and other stakeholders recognise as the young maturity of an organisation that has implemented, developed actions and realises every day exercises to reduce and eliminate forms of discrimination, from gender parity, diversity of ethnicities and nationalities, as well as acceptance, respect for sexual orientation and respect for differences.
I hope that this «Being», we know as BAI Academy, will continue to give life, light and soul to knowledge, not only in being a guardian of books and dreams, but also as a pursuer of well-being, of a good organisational climate, of good practices and innovative ideas and of the relentless quest to transform lives, through technical and behavioural training, academic qualifications and culture, so that these, in turn, transform neighbourhoods, cities, society and the economy. Based on this principle, which also represents the possibility of the continuity of life and natural succession, what has been built so far may continue with others, in critical functions and functions which allow the BAI Academy to effectively be alive and to endure far beyond these ten years that have already passed. For this reason, we will not remain «prisoners» of our achievements, but we need to keep our gaze turned towards the future and to set goals, assuming «a commitment to the future», with the people, education, Angola, Portuguese-speaking nations and the world. Today, we also have the responsibility of managing the BAI Foundation. This foundational character that we have chosen leads us to have to design a strategy that contributes to the achievement and promotion of greater social welfare and that serves to transform lives through education, in that our pillars of action are precisely education, culture, health and sports. In this sense, our vision is to be a leading institution, contributing to the construction of a fair and compassionate society, disseminating values of active citizenship, collective awareness and inclusion.
Our motto is one of commitment to the future, since we are the «BAI Academy, an academy of life and for life».
«I am worried about the lack of employment and the consequent poverty and social inequality»
What motivated you to write the book Entre Sonhos e Delírios (Between Dreams and Delusions)?
Having things to share and the memory of the recurring recommendation. And, also, the influence of a good reference for me, translated into altruism and wisdom. I am talking about Monsenhor Cachadinha, the former director of the Library of the Universidade Católica, the university where I worked as a professor for some years, but also as Executive Director of the Centre for Studies and Scientific Research. He was one of those people who most often told me: «Noelma, articles and texts published in magazines and newspapers are lost in history because they are dated and we throw away the magazine of that week or month. Your articles must not be lost in that way.» So, after much consideration, I thought it was time to get down to work, organise them so that they make sense, creating a thread. I decided to compile at least one set of them. But I have many.
Enlighten us, where does dreaming end and delusion begin?
The dream manifests itself as the art or exercise of keeping your sleep, but also as the desire for the making dreams come true, which, when well «dreamed», when they have a good concept, foundation and if the right people are involved, manage to be implemented. Delusion is the escape from reality. My book, in fact, mirrors the crescendo of the topics, as they were organised evolving from neuroses to psychoses and it is these that represent the escape from reality. So, I start with articles relating to the history of psychotherapy itself, its practices, the ethics of psychotherapists and the methodologies used. It then goes through the more neurotic psychological disorders, existential topics and ends with an article on suicide. It was a very rewarding work because, to write the articles, I had to read or reread many books, not only technical ones, but also literature. I used some characters from literature and from stories in books as examples or illustration of symptoms. When writing about incest, for example, I used the characters from Os Maias, by Eça de Queiroz - Maria Eduarda and Carlos Eduardo - to approach the topic of anguish, frustration and evil. In short, there are over 300 pages that allow a journey through literature and the world of psychology.
As an Angolan woman, what do you think has not been done to mitigate the effects of gender inequality?
I believe that we still have a lot of hard work to do in areas such as the fight for family planning, as well as early pregnancy and unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, which causes death, illnesses and leads to reduced school attendance and poverty. On the other hand, domestic violence against women, rape of minors and serious penalisation of the perpetrators of these practices. We also need to raise education in terms of positive masculinity and conscious fatherhood.
I consider that gender parity, already represented in decisive state bodies, is very important, and I am hopeful that it will represent greater attention and action in solving the problems mentioned above.
What worries you about the future of the country and the world?
I am worried about the lack of employment and the consequent poverty and social inequality, as well as the need for more education, more training, more capacity building of staff and their inclusion in the right places for the promotion of economic and social development. Angola has evolved, but at a relatively slower rate than would be desirable and than we need. Angola's population is growing exponentially. Our fertility rate is among the highest in the world, but our capacity for production and food self-sufficiency and the main development indices are still among the lowest in the world, when our natural resources are among the highest. So, this means that we have not yet been able to work these resources and put them at our service, benefiting the whole of society. Even when we have had high growth rates, the resources have not been efficiently invested, and the much desired diversification of the economy has not taken place.
I am also concerned about the lack of quality information and the role of disinformation that social networks have been playing in our country. They foster intrigue and defamation; people’s good names are abused and vilified, without any legal or criminal consequence. This is another aspect of education, information and personal data management and security that concerns me and that I think we have to take better care of.
We are celebrating the 13th anniversary of Villas&Golfe magazine, in Angola. What have these last years represented for you in your life and in the country?
For my life they represented years of learning about many subjects and of life experience, of growth and maturity, as well as of social contribution to the development of the organisations in which I worked. For my country, I also consider them to have been years of evolution in several senses, from its growth to significant changes, but still short of what we need and of the speed that would be desirable. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful that the common good is our concern and that each of us can contribute to improving the lives of Angolans on a daily basis.