Dundee-born Callum Jensen was so moved by his experiences working for charities in Angola he wrote a book on how human spirit can endure even the worst trauma

Some say the Angolan war never really ended. To this day many factions are still fighting, especially in the north despite hostilities officially ceasing in 2002.

Angola remains a country ravished by destruction and poverty. As a development worker who spent the last 10 years working with major aid agencies, including Plan International Rise, TearFund and, for a short time, Halo Trust, I’ve seen first-hand how difficult life is for the poorest of the country’s 25 million inhabitants.

I’ve now returned to my home town of Dundee and decided to write a book about my experiences. It’s called Dark Soul and will be published next May, and describes the humanity that succeeded among a brutal regime that gratuitously squandered the lives of millions.

Angola never was a poor country. It has minerals and oil and should be a very wealthy nation. But it has been plundered by greed and political strife while the west sat back and watched it implode.

In itself this is unremarkable because it’s a story being told across the whole of Africa. What is remarkable however is the spirit of human endurance. That’s what inspired me to write my book. Time and again I saw people who had nothing, who faced a future of extreme poverty for them and their families but carried on regardless with a hope and a determination I can only describe as miraculous.

I write about one mother whose entire family of 12 were murdered in front of her and who was deliberately left alive as a warning to villagers not to side with rebel forces. When asked how she coped with the obvious trauma she said she didn’t think about the killings; she just remembered her family as they were before the killing: happy. That made her happy and it was this thought that made her live and get through each day.

I believe that when you spend so much time working with entire traumatised communities you begin to see humanity for what it is. We are all responsible for evil I believe. We (government we vote for) allow it to exist by doing nothing; we make decisions based on expedience knowing the repercussions could mean deaths of innocent people.

The most disappointing aspect of international development work is how the innovation and enthusiasm of the dedicated is curtailed and often destroyed by bureaucracy. The money and resources are there; but the work can’t be done because of red tape. That costs lives and ends up looking like no-one cares.

I’m going back to Angola in December on an advisory basis for UNHCR. I made numerous friends when I was there – hard working selfless people who have dedicated their lives to others. They continue to work against a backdrop of oppression – aid groups are treated with suspicion and often get viewed as the enemy ion Angola, despite the fact their track record proves they save lives.