Is there really anything to celebrate?

Yes, I think there are reasons to celebrate these 30 years of independence. Thirty years aren't 30 days or 30 minutes.

From 1975 until now, the country has had many ups and downs, there were elections in 1992 and then the war started again and then three years ago we achieved peace. Thirty years of independence is good.

Today when you look at your country, do you believe the next 30 years can be better?

I think so. With just three years of peace behind us we can see that the war stalled our progress immensely.

Roja says things have begun to improve in three years of peace

With 60 years of independence I think we will witness a lot of other changes, positive changes, especially in terms of social development. These credit lines from China and other countries, they're welcome if they're well implemented.

And if they are, I'm sure we will see improvements in the education and health sectors. Of course, if that money isn't put to good use, the next 30 years will be bad and our generation will have to carry the weight of those bad decisions.

But in three years of peace I think we're already starting to see some positive signals. The economy is growing and inflation is decreasing.

The war - how did it affect you personally?

I was a soldier from 1992 to 1996. Because of that I had to suspend my studies. I also lost both parents because of the war and had to put a lot of plans on hold. I'm sure if I hadn't had to join the army I would already have been able to get a grant to study abroad.

I think the war also affected me psychologically. For the first couple of years after I left the army, I didn't go to a single funeral. I had lost so many friends and relatives during the war - war is like that - that I couldn't face it. But I think I healed with time and I think I am strong, psychologically.

But the war makes deep scars on some people and in my province - Bie - which was totally destroyed, people were badly affected. Youths started to drink a lot. It's only in these last three years of peace that people are starting to recompose themselves psychologically.

You already have one daughter and are expecting another child. What are your hopes for their future?

All our efforts now are focused on giving the best to our children, to give them everything that we didn't have. I hope they can have better lives than I did. At least I know they won't have to smell gunpowder, hear the sound of gunfire, go through these things that hurt us so much.

Is there a good reason to celebrate 30 years of independence?

Odete wants her children to be schooled without paying bribes

Yes, of course - we got rid of the colonial power 30 years ago and that is important. I don't remember the colonial days very well, I was only 10 at independence.

But there was a lot of agitation when the Portuguese left. I was brought up by my godparents who were Portuguese - they didn't return to Portugal - and my godfather died in Angola.

How were things under colonial rule?

Things were normal. I don't remember much though, I was only young. I stayed in Cunene until 1976 then I went to Lubango where I grew up until I came to Luanda in 1992.

During the war there was a lot of agitation, things were bad, there was very little food and a lot of fighting. But since the end of the war we can see things slowly improving.

The fighting has stopped, you can travel all over the country by road and there is food to eat.

What do you hope for your children's' future?

I would like them to have a better life, to be able to go to school without having to pay bribes.

Is this independence day important?

It's very important for all Angolans because it is one thing that we can say we achieved on our own.

It is perhaps difficult to understand this because of all the problems we have in Angola.

How have things changed in your lifetime?

'A lot of people are hard working and youngsters want to study'

The civil war brought us a lot of bad things but I believe we learned to live by ourselves, independently.

I believe that was the most important lesson we learned - to make our own decisions, sometimes to make mistakes but also to learn from them.

What are your hopes for the next 30 years?

That there is no war, that the next generation becomes the generation of progress.

A lot of people are hard-working and a lot of youngsters want to study.

I believe that in the next 30 years we can hope for greater development.

And for yourself, personally?

I hope that I can realise some dreams that I have or had. For me, the most important thing in my country, in all countries, is education.

I believe that as a teacher, I can help my country to develop universities and schools.

How was your life during the war years?

It is difficult for me to say it was a good life because there were so many problems. But I consider myself lucky as I got to study, travel and work whereas a lot of others didn't have these opportunities.

I wanted to be a teacher and I became a teacher, I'm not rich but I'm not poor. Things haven't turned out exactly as I would have liked but things have been good.

What could the government do to help you realise your dreams?

In the past I blamed the government for many things. I used to think the government should build more schools and hospitals, at least in Luanda where there wasn't war. But on the other hand, the government gave me the chance to study.

With a war, the government could have closed all the schools and sent everyone to the frontline but they chose to keep some schools open to allow some people to study while some went to war.

I was lucky, I got to study. But a lot of others had to go to war and I believe their idea about the government is very different to mine.