Sacramentine sisters help the orphan girls in Malawi, Africa

Friday, Oct. 23, 2015

Gertrude Komba is 17, but learning at an elementary school level. She is behind in her schooling because she had to stop her education after her parents died and she moved in with her grandmother. A neighbor paid for her education when she was younger, but her grandmother has no means of supporting her.

Unfortunately, Gertrude’s story is repeated many times over in Malawi and other parts of Africa. Gertrude attends a school where most of 150 students share similar experiences. All of the girls at the school have lost at least one parent.  Some, such as Lucia Samuele, lost a parent to AIDS and the surviving parent is also HIV positive. Lucia is being raised by an aunt who does not have the resources to pay for her schooling.

Other girls share an experience similar to Maria Njau, whose parents died when she was very young. A neighbor cared for her for a while, then she went to live with an aunt who had no means of providing for her or sending her to school. Maria, like many of the students, now lives in an orphanage connected to the school, both of which are run by Sacramentine sisters.

The Sacramentines are an Italian religious order that has served in Malawi since 1976. Sister Ornella Sala is from Italy; she and her fellow nuns welcomed our American delegation that was traveling the area to experience the humanitarian assistance provided by our Church through Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The sisters spent some time talking with us about their efforts to improve the survival rates of malnourished, vulnerable children and mothers and education for girls.

The school and orphanage are just two of the programs the sisters operate, with technical and financial assistance from Catholic Relief Services. The school is in its final days of a grant facilitated through CRS as part of the Strengthening Capacity of Women Religious in Early Childhood Development (SCORE ECD) program. Through SCORE ECD, the nuns have been able to help orphaned girls grow into physically, mentally and spiritually healthy women.  

One of the nuns, Sr. Maria Mtepeka (who celebrated 25 years of service the week before we arrived), is the congregational coordinator for the program. She explained that there are many more than 150 girls who want to attend the school, but the program has been so successful that it has surpassed the available resources. The sisters lack the funds to hire more teachers, and must cap enrollment. The sisters try to serve at least one girl per family, with the hope and expectation that the student will teach her siblings. 

Sr. Maria shared the stories of many of the students with me. Stories such as Cremetine’s are heartbreaking. Crementine lost her mother when she was 9 months old, and her father one year later. She was raised by an aunt who passed away two years ago, leaving Crementine and her siblings with no one to help them. Crementine also lives in the orphanage so she can continue her studies.  

The tales continue in tragically similar ways. Gaudiosa Enguwila lost her father when she was 8 and her mother when she was 11. Irene Yona lost both parents and lives with her grandmother and younger brother. Martha Morice also lived with her grandparents after losing both parents. Her grandfather passed away a month ago and she is left with her grandmother who, like so many others, does not have the resources to care for Martha.

Though this is a short litany of names and circumstances, Crementine, Gertrude, Maria, Lucia, Gaudiosa, Irene, and Martha are also stories of hope. Through education, these young women who have lost so much will impact the future of their country in substantial ways. From the simple but lifesaving lessons they learn in hygiene and nutrition, to the more academic lessons that will help them be active, engaged citizens, these orphaned girls are already improving the fate of their villages and country. And at least some small part of their future success will be thanks to the work of our Church through Catholic Relief Services.