Sharing new voices of sisters in Kenya, 3

This story appears in the Writing Workshops feature series. View the full series.

by Melanie Lidman

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As Global Sisters Report celebrates our one-year anniversary, we are also celebrating the connections we have made with sisters in Africa, where women have even less of a voice in the global conversation. While in Kenya in January, I ran two writing workshops for more than 100 sisters. During my trips to Nigeria and Uganda, as we began to introduce the concept of our website, sisters were hesitant to write for GSR.

“I don’t know what to write about!” they told me.

But in Kenya, the sisters were thrilled to get the chance to share their stories with the wider world. As I was leaving the last workshop, I overheard one sister say to another, “You know what? We work so hard. It’s about time that somebody started sharing our stories!”

Following is a piece from the Kenya workshops.

If you’d like to run a writing workshop for your congregation, go to this copy of the lesson plan here or email Melanie (melanie.lidman@gmail.com) for more information.

A moment of great joy as a sister

As a young enthusiastic sister of the Congregation of Mercy from the Kenyan Province, I was asked to represent Mercy in an economically deprived slum school. These children had every challenge anyone could possibly think of. They came to school in rags, and only sometimes showed up.

We fed them in school and I remember one child asking me in private, “Teacher, can I bring half of my food to my little brother at home as he has nothing to eat? At least I have had my lunch.” This melted my heart. From then on, I made sure that if there was any extra, she would get an extra serving.

A few meters from the school compound flowed the most polluted river, which we used to water the trees. We helped the children understand that they need to respect the trees, which provide them with shade and clean air. In the summer, when the buildings made of iron sheeting were roasting, we held classes underneath those trees. They worked to clean up the area so now the school stands amidst beautiful forested compound.

I ended up teaching in this school for 11 years. I grew to love the students. I was determined to help them achieve the same things as children from other elite schools.

One child said, “Teacher, I am what I am today because of you, thanks.”

And yet another introduces me, “This is my teacher, my mentor and she was my mother when mine died and I was in her class.”

Today, I owe who I am to my encounter with these children. They helped me face myself. As they shared their stories, I could hear myself in them, they helped me get in touch with gifts and talents within me that I had not been aware of. As a result, I have discovered myself and continue to as I work to support them and others psychologically. I am highly indebted to them for the privilege of serving them.

- Sr. Magdalene Musau, Congregation of Mercy

[Melanie Lidman is Middle East and Africa correspondent for Global Sisters Report based in Israel.]

Click here to go to the Writing Workshop series page, where there are more short essays from sisters to read.

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