Shangombo

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The small town of Shangombo in the Western Province of Zambia is one of the most remote towns and districts in the country. It lies on the eastern bank of the floodplain of the Cuando River, and the bank (rather than the river channel) forms the border with Angola.

Shangombo town lies at the end of a sandy road, recently reconstructed, running 140 km west across the sandy forested plain from the Kalongola Ferry across the Zambezi River just south of Senanga.

[edit] Shangombo District

Shangombo District had a population of about 82,000 in the 2000 census. During the Angolan Civil War, the area was unsafe due to arms smuggling activities and the conflict occasionally spilled over into Zambia, where villagers were killed by combatants. A large number of Angolan refugees were placed in UNHCR camps in the district, the largest was Nangweshi Camp near the Zambezi established in 2000 for 15,000 refugees; by 2003 the district hosted about 26,000 refugees.^[1] Roads in the district may become impassable in the rainy season and vehicles can get stuck in sand during the dry, so trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles are the principal mode of transport. Access to Mongu, the provincial capital relies on the Kalongola Ferry across the Zambezi south of Senanga, and the Senanga-Mongu road, though paved in the past has been in very poor condition, partly due to the heavy trucks used to supply UNHCR programs. The Senanga–Katima Mulilo–Sesheke dirt road is also difficult at times. Other tracks go north to Kalabo, along the eastern bank of the Cuando River and to the Sioma Ngwezi National Park located in the south of the district.

In 2003 to help supply the Nangweshi camps from Mongu, Luciano Pavarotti donated through the UNHCR a new ferry at Kalongola from the proceeds of his charity concerts, named Fernando Pavarotti in honour of his father.^[2]

Neighbouring regions in Angola and Namibia have extensive national parks and wildlife reserves. Wildlife in the district's own national park, Sioma Ngwezi has held up well despite poaching. With the end of the Angolan war tourism especially wilderness and fishing safaris may develop in Shangombo District, aided by proximity to the TransCaprivi Highway at Katima Mulilo just across the district's southern border.

[edit] References

General references

• Terracarta/International Travel Maps, Vancouver Canada: "Zambia, 2nd edition", 2000.
• Spectrum">Camerapix (1996). "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Nairobi: Camerapix International Publishing. ISBN 1-874041-14-8.

Coordinates: 16°19′S, 22°4′E