Sisters’ Orders in Africa Sending “seniors” for Further Studies Challenged to Give Younger Nuns Education Opportunities

Credit: ACI Africa

“Medical courses came in at a low level, even though it is a traditional field in the Church,” Sr. Mary said.

She noted that Sisters pursuing college education put into consideration the charisms of their Congregations as they choose their courses.

The Sisters also matched the apostolates they are working in, particularly in education and administration.

The study indicated that 90 percent of the participants in Kenya experienced significant personal and professional growth, particularly in their computer literacy, financial management, leadership, and education administration. In Uganda, about 85 percent reported increased self-confidence and leadership capacity.

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Credit: ACI Africa

Up to 98 percent of the participants studied locally, and they continued to serve in their home countries. 

In terms of applying the skills they acquired through college education, performance was best in Uganda at 82 percent, followed by Zambia at 78 percent, and lowest in Kenya at a paltry 58 percent.

Sr. Dr. Lucy Mwesa, a member of the Order of Preachers (OP/Dominicans) who presented the second part of the findings at the symposium urged Sisters Congregations to allow their members to practice what they learn for the good of their communities.

Sr. Dr. Lucy Mwesa, a member of the Order of Preachers (OP/Dominicans). Credit: ACI Africa

“We encourage our Major Superiors to help Sisters who go through college to apply the training in the roles,” the Dominican Sister from Zambia said.

Sr. Lucy also underlined the need for pre-assignment dialogue between Religious Sisters and their superiors, noting that there is little engagement between the two, especially in Kenya which recorded a paltry 49 percent.

At 67 percent, Zambia performed better in terms of pre-assignment dialogue between Religious Sisters and their superiors, followed by Uganda at 57 percent. 

Credit: ACI Africa

The CERRA-Africa study, however couldn’t not quantify the growth in incomes of Congregations as a result of their members accessing college education.

“Although the Sisters recognized that they had increased income when they went to college, they said that owing to the nature of Religious life, a Sister may be a professor today, and tomorrow she’s made a Superior General, and she is not enumerated. This becomes difficult for us as researchers to enumerate that, because the salary jumps from a good amount to zero,” Sr. Mary said in her presentation.

The researchers found that exposure to education positively correlated with the number of projects Sister’s Congregations initiated, and the number of people served.

According to the study, Sisters who pursued college education found valuable networks, particularly with church groups, Parishes, and Dioceses. 

Credit: ACI Africa

The study however found that there was a gap in collaboration between Sisters’ Congregations, Sr. Mary noted, and said, “We were not seeing Sisters collaborating at the grassroots, even as they collaborate on the national level.” 

The CERRA-Africa study on education among Religious Sisters in Africa recommended that there be strengthened role alignment between training and apostolate assignments. 

“We simply mean that Sisters should be assigned apostolates in which they have skills acquired from their education,” Sr. Lucy said, and further emphasized the need for pre-assignment dialogue between sisters and superiors.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya’s Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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