The Dala’Family — Keepers of Unity

 

🌟 The Fantastic Tale of the Dala’Family — Keepers of Unity

In the north part of Angola, where red earth meets golden sunsets, there lived an extraordinary lineage known across Malanje and Luanda as The Dala’Family.

They were not nobles. They were not wealthy. They were simply many, and they were one.

Malanje is crossed by several important rivers, the most prominent being the Lucala River, famous for the majestic Calandula Falls, one of Africa’s most beautiful and powerful waterfalls. The Luando River, which flows into the Cuanza and floods its fertile plains, also nourishes the land, along with the Cole and Ngola Rivers.

This natural richness formed the backdrop of the Dalas’ earliest stories.

Origins: The Language of the Elders

The first Dalas were born in Malanje in the last century. They spoke only Kimbundu, carrying in their voices the wisdom of ancestors. When many later moved to Luanda, they carried this culture like a sacred fire—lighting their path, warming their unity.

(SDG 4 – Quality Education & SDG 11 – Sustainable Communities: preservation of culture and intergenerational knowledge.)

🌱 The Multiplying Branches of the Family Tree

As time marched forward, the family multiplied—children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

Some became businessmen, gospel musicians, others teachers, directors, nurses, public workers. Ordinary jobs, yes—but with extraordinary impact.

And then came the miracle:

One visionary member, blessed with opportunity, used his influence not for himself, but to lift the entire family, providing jobs to hundreds. Instead of becoming an individual success, he became the family’s backbone.

(SDG 8 – Decent Work & SDG 1 – No Poverty: creating employment and economic stability.)

⛪ A Family that Worships Together

The Dalas grew not only in number, but in spirit.
All became part of one faith, one community—the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
There, they prayed together, sang together, forgave together.

But living in community is not always peaceful.
As anyone in a church knows, where many hearts gather, so do disagreements.
Different backgrounds, different social levels, different perspectives…
Yet the Dalas learned to navigate these tensions with humility and grace.

(SDG 16 – Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions: building harmonious, inclusive communities.)

👵 Grandmother Mariana — The Living Root

This November, the family gathered to celebrate the 89th birthday of their last surviving grandmother, Grandmother Mariana.

The grandchildren—dozens from many branches—organized a celebration called:

“Os Netos da Avó Mariana”

It wasn’t just a party.

It was a declaration:

“We are still one. We stand because she stood.”

(SDG 3 – Good Health & Well-being: celebrating longevity and care for elders.)

🛡️ Strength Against Envy and External Attacks

People from outside looked at the Dala’Family with disbelief—and sometimes envy.

How can one family stay so united? So supportive? So strong?

What they did not understand was simple:

Unity is not luck. Unity is work.

Unity is forgiveness, repeated endlessly.

Unity is remembering that every human sins, fails, fears…

but also learns, heals, and rewrites their story.

The Dalas faced internal disagreements, external jealousy, economic pressures, and church tensions.

Yet they remained unbroken, because they believed:

God binds a family not by perfection, but by grace.

(SDG 5 – Gender Equality & SDG 16 – Inclusive Societies: addressing conflict, embracing equality, recognizing faults, and choosing peace.)

🌳 The Secret of the Dalas

The greatest power of the Dala’Family is not their size.

Not their jobs.

Not even their shared religion.

Their power is support—the kind that lifts the weak, celebrates the strong, and protects every member under one spiritual roof.

They are proof of a timeless truth:

Where unity lives, blessings multiply.

And as long as their hearts remain woven together, the Dala’Family will continue to flourish—

in Malanje, in Luanda, in Angola, and in every future generation yet to be born.

Here are some of Dalas sharing their talents 

Gallery 

Grandmother Mariana — The Living Root