Doreen Ajiambo

Religious sisters in Southern African countries have welcomed the establishment of the Regional Conference of Major Superiors of Southern Africa, saying it will help them share the best practices that could benefit the church.

Lesotho's culture expects boys to protect and herd cattle, sheep and goats for their families or look for jobs as herdsmen, which requires them to drop out of school. Sisters run night schools to help empower the boys.

Parents and other elders wanted to sell them into marriage for cows. Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix-Ggogonya stepped in to educate them instead at Kalas Girls Primary School in northern Uganda.

With help from volunteers, Sisters of St. Joseph of Mombasa find dazed youths along the shores of the Indian Ocean and invite them to the Grandsons of Abraham Rescue Centre, which works to rehabilitate and educate them.

In Africa, there is rampant misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. To save lives amid the pandemic, Catholic sisters have been working to educate and encourage people to get vaccinated as the best means to fight the virus.

Sr. Anna Masawe manages a faith-based organization that shelters street children before they are reintegrated into their families and community. She speaks to GSR about her ministry working with homeless children.

Fish, the main currency in cities on Lake Victoria, is in severe shortage. Many women fish sellers must trade sex for fish from fishermen. The practice has fueled HIV/AIDS infections in the region, prompting the Catholic Church to intervene.

Sr. Anne Onyancha, a member of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega and head teacher of St Peter's Mumias Boys Primary School, was among 31 teachers across Kenya who were honored for this year's World Teachers' Day.

In Malawi, dependence on firewood and charcoal as sources of income and for energy needs has led people in the world's fifth poorest country to chop down vast portions of the forest. To reduce deforestation, Carmelite Missionary Sisters are teaching women skills that will not further damage the forests. 

A faith-based campaign in Malawi aims to educate communities about the rights of people with albinism and to dispel myths that motivate attacks for their body parts, which are believed to bring good luck and wealth.

The Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in Uganda are among the congregations using entrepreneurial skills they acquired in 2019 after receiving training on how to transform their social ministries into enterprises.

The dispute over St. Mary's Mission Hospitals pits a former Maryknoll priest against the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi. Each side claims ownership of the hospitals, with the standoff resulting in an exodus of staff and significantly diminished service to patients.

The plight of refugees in Uganda worsened when the coronavirus struck. Refugee camps endured ration cuts and food shortages. But a sister and Salesian missionaries helped refugees survive by training them to farm crops.

The late Sr. Marianna Hulshof, a Medical Mission sister from the Netherlands changed the lives of many members of the Samia people of Funyula. Her work touched almost every aspect of life in the small rural town.

Tanzania's government stopped publishing COVID-19 data almost a year ago, and the president has stated that vaccinations are dangerous. The recent deaths of the 60 nuns and dozens of priests in the span of about two months has left religious sisters stressed about their safety.

The goal is as simple as it is complicated to achieve: Shift the care of children from institutions like orphanages to a family or family-like environment.

The combination of economic and social stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as restrictions on movement, have severely increased the number of women and girls facing abuse in almost all countries. Sisters are counseling couples and advocating for change.

Hundreds of women in Kenya are benefiting from a project of the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco. In Dagoreti, the project provides microloans to help women start small businesses in order to provide for their children.

When Sr. Miriam Duggan was sent on mission to Africa, she had no idea what she was going to face, but her passion was always serving those who live in poverty and the less privileged as a doctor. She was first posted as an obstetrician in Uganda, where she headed the maternity unit of St. Francis Nsambya Hospital in the capital Kampala for 30 years.

Dominican Sr. Astridah Banda and other sisters in Zambia are working together to ensure that educational messages on the coronavirus reach communities in rural areas where there is little access to information.