All Africa Conference Sister to Sister (AACSS)
Mission Sustainability (Phase II Training)
AACSS Second Plenary in Uganda
History
All Africa Conference Sister to Sister (AACSS) is a movement started by Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM) in the USA to assist local women religious in Africa improve their levels of education and formation. Their focus was to create an atmosphere of faith sharing and to give one another mutual support through the effort of pursuing renewal and updating their understanding of consecrated life as African women religious with a commitment to the Gospel values and evangelisation in the face of challenges of HIVAIDs in this post-modern world. The founders of AACSS realised that women religious in Africa are capable and when empowered can offer mutual support guided by the gospel values for sustainable evangelisation.
The involvement of the Ugandan Sisters in AAC:SS began at the plenary conference of the major superiors of national conferences of the Association of Consecrated Women of Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) in 2002. This was followed by the first AAC:SS Conference in Nairobi 2003. At the closure of the Nairobi Conference the representatives from each national conference including Uganda met with Sisters Eileen Hogan, and Margaret Farley, RSM to discuss the prevalent issues and problems of HIV/AIDs in Africa which the religious are facing in their specific communities and apostolates. Each national delegation made an action plan to involve members who had been at the conference. The objectives were to create and maintain a forum of addressing common challenging issues to the consecrated women, e.g. HIV/AIDs pandemic, and the impact of globalisation. To form a nationwide and international network among the religious women, and between them and other people of good will to achieve common objectives which are: understanding the impact of post-modern culture, traditional, social, economic, political and religious cultures, that may be stumbling blocks to their prophetic mission. AAC:SS developed the main focus was to support the sisters address the current challenges in the mission so that they can more effectively address issues affecting their ministries and congregations.
Sr. Margaret Farley in the black coat posed a photo with Sr. Elizabeth the AAC:SS Development Officer.
The late Sr. Cecilia Nibyobyonka was the first National AAC: SS Coordinator officially nominated by the major superiors in Uganda to carry out the AACSS activities in Uganda assisted by Sr. Teresa Namataka when Sisters Margaret Farley and Eileen Hogan met with the ARU Executive during AMSRIU assembly in November, 2003.
The Association of Religious Women in Uganda (A.R.U.) welcomed the initiative of the Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM) International who showed their availability to support the sisters in Uganda to combat HIV and AIDS in the population. The following were the action plans presented to the superior generals during the National Conference in Jinja on 30th April to 6th May 2006 the religious in Uganda
(a). To train a team of spiritual and psychological counsellors to help others within and outside our religious communities.
(b). To improve the quality of life of the infected and affected by HIV and AIDS within our religious communities.
(c). To carry out sensitisation programmes through Sister-to-Sister in order to meet the needs of care-takers of orphans affected by HIV and AIDS.
(d). To provide to all the religious information about HIV and AIDS, share knowledge and values about the human dignity of those affected and infected, and the need to train in skills of handling the sufferer.
(e). To organise workshops, seminars, and recollections for support, spiritual nourishment and growth, by combined activities (collaboration) at ARU / AMSRIU level.
On-going sensitisation and exchange of information (networking) being one of the first objective of AAC:SS in Uganda, which later gave birth to training of the psychological counsellors; was eventual forgotten as the Late Sr. Cecilia Nibyobyonka embarked on professional the programme of training psychological counsellor with Uganda Martyrs University a branch of Kisubi brothers’ University currently knowns as University of Kisubi. Although, At the conference and during the meetings of AACSS national committee agreed that sensitisation on HIV and AIDS continues. The sensitisation took place by allocating members of the national committee, two by two, to go to the regions of Uganda of the north, central, south and west.
They were commissioned to talk about HIV and AIDS and its impact on society, globalisation, community mutual support, and the importance of counselling.
The counsellor training programme was followed by training of the sisters in Transformative Education and faith (TEF). This professional programmes shallowed the sensitization programmes of the sisters about AAC:SS hence it left the sisters in Uganda do not know about AAC:SS.
Achievements
- AACSS Uganda Team trained 26 sisters, from 24 different congregations, participated in the first phase and 16 participants were trained for the second training of Mission Sustainability training after the Malawi having trained 8 sisters in April 2022 in Mission Sustainability. So, in total Uganda trained 50 sisters in Mission AACSS from different congregations.
- We trained congregation bursars, project coordinators, community bursars and AACSS Ecclesiastical and Diocesan coordinators. The trainers of mission sustainability were trained in April 2024 in Malawi 8 participants who trained the first phase of the sisters in mission sustainability from 11th to 17th December 2022,
- We carried out local fundraising of 10,000 USD to train the second phase of the sisters in mission sustainability from 25th February to 2nd March 2024 at the Association of Religious in Uganda (ARU) headquarters, Kampala, Uganda.
- Uganda hosted the second AACSS Conference on mission sustainability in April and seven countries were represented (Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda and the United States of America).
- AACSS country Coordinator and the Diocesan Coordinators were elected.
Our Impact
AACSS began as a concern to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS pandemic by the consecrated women. In Uganda, it was approached it in a professional way, first by training counselors at different levels of academic profession. AACSS also on realizing the emerging challenges started training religious sisters, brothers and some laity in the following course as indicated in the executive summary.
Executive Summary of AACSS -Beneficiaries
1. Counselling Training Programme (CTP) 121 Religious Sisters
2. Counselling Training Programme (CTP) 18 Laity
3. Transformative Education and Faith (TEF) 33 Religious sisters
4. Transformative Education and Faith (TEF) 02 Religious brothers
5. Bachelors (BA), in Theology 03 Religious sisters
6. New wine Newwine Newwineskin 01 Religious brothers
7. New wine Newwine Newwineskin 25 Religious sisters
8. Child protection and child safe guiding 05 Laity
9. Child protection and child safe guiding 01 Religious brother
10. Child protection and child safe guiding 72 Religious sisters
11. Mission sustainability 50 Religious sisters
Total 331
Impact of AACSS counsellor training programme.
- Several sisters who have graduated in counselling programme admitted that by going through training they have been made new people; and are able to make mature decisions in life. Able to listen attentively to other people’s story without interrupting the conversation and able to give emotional support.
- Many admit that they have gained skills to handle conflicts in their respective communities.
- Those who joined training as nurses admit that counselling training has added a lot to their profession as nurses.
- Others see the counselling service as form of evangelisation because it gives liberation for holistic living.
- Some major superiors now realise the impact of counselling from Christian perspective and are actively sending more sisters to train despite the shortage of congregational financial resources. Some even are sending back their sisters to train at higher level of masters from their own resources. This was difficulty in the past. They now have been awakened to the importance of training their members as counsellors.
- Although the programme of training counsellors was initially started in response to the challenges of the pandemic of HIV and aids in Uganda, it has moved beyond to ease psychological difficulties of all kind of people.
- Counseling graduate, both the religious and non-religious, save those on study programmes within and outside of Africa. This was significant to the programme because CTPS graduates find jobs easily and this has impacted on the education system offered by the church and state. The more employment opportunities available to counselor graduate the more influence and impact they cause in the communities.
Impact of Transformative Education and Faith (TEF)
- The knowledge gained help them work in the formation program of the congregation and do pastoral work in Juniorate and community apostolate.
- Work in the postulant as a mistresses and postulants master for the sake of brother
- Knowledge gained in TEF changed and transformed their lives.
- It helped some learn to take care of the elderly sisters and the sick members of the congregation
- It helped her work with patients in one of the health units of the congregation as
- Another worked with the small Christian communities, with the sick, aged and the poor in the local communities doing pastoral work.
- Another one is working in South Sudan teaching catechism for the children who have been in affected by the war.
- Another sister works as a teacher in one of the schools in Fort portal diocese and pastoral ministry with the children on pontifical Missionary Childhood.
- Another sister is involved in pastoral work, helping different people including fellow with sisters in the mother house community and working in the retreat center of the congregation.
- Another sister is the local superior of the house and in-charge of the congregation farm as well as teaching in one of the diocesan primary schools.
- Another member is a teacher, accompanying the students and teaching sustainable organic Agriculture and instructing student of sacraments as well as the administrator and a teacher in the novitiate.
- Another member is working as a secretary as well as the bursar and giving counseling to in the congregation Institute of Home Economics, workers, youth and the sisters of the community and local community around.
- Another member is the treasure of the community as well as the head teacher of one of their private schools and the congregation’s vocation animator.
- Some are working as counsellors in the health centres, schools, organizations and some are teachers and lecturers
- TEF program has transformed my social, emotional, and spiritual life so much as agent of evangelization, she can now embrace cultural diversity in formation houses as well as the community of the professed Sisters.
- TEF helped her understand and opened her eyes to know how to generate money through the little capital she has at hand. Through studying stewardship: Financial Planning, Budgeting and reporting her really helped to know how to do budgeting, planning and even giving reports to my superior about the project.
- She learned how to plan for the small businesses she has, and has learned how to save and get profits from what the community have at hand.
- The course unit in stewardship helped her to love and accept ministry as a good project that generates money to help her congregation and the community around.
- The training has exposed her to the awareness of religious life; she was once blind but now can see, understand and can defend her faith as a religious and she is ready to help others discover God in their lives.
- The TEF training programme helped her get off the trauma she had gone through while in her work place in one of the schools as a teacher.
- The knowledge of counseling has helped her to helped others as people come to her seeking for support
- Information technology course unit helped her know how to use computer and smartphone and as well as attend online learning.
- Able to help vulnerable persons like aged, orphans, and children on the street.
- Gained knowledge on self -awareness and personal maturity which helped her to understand herself and other members in the community taking each one of them the way they are and at the same time being patient with them.
- Another one initiated a group youth with the aim of creating a safe environment where they could share freely the challenges they face and developing some life skills.
- “I am to cope with challenges and circumstances that come my way in mature and she can also understand better the people around me and the sick and elderly most of them confide in me”.
- Experienced deeper growth into the word of God and able to share with the others. Transformative Education and Faith has empowered her to have self- discipline of hard working, planning and team work. I am able to discover my hidden skills and talents of leadership which help me in my community and the local community and this has increased my faith, belief and strengthened my vocation.
- Another learned how to conquer many pitfalls for example, able to express herself maturely, knowledge of the Biblical interpretation has enriched her as she is able to interpret the word of God in her life experiences that helped her live good community life as she shares with the community members and keep at peace.
- Another member gained confidence to stand up and defend her faith and church with doctrinal messages.
- She learned to reduce her stress level by facing the reality and confronting the root cause of her stress and dealing with them.
Impact of child protection
Participants views reflect deep appreciation of the course content and its applicability in their work. Below are some of the responses from the participants.
- “In my apostolate, I am sensitive to child protection…I established a safeguarding policy in my institution with the help of experts. To inspire my community members.”
- “Advocacy and awareness creation of issues concerning children’s rights and responsibilities.”
- “I am helping parents to know by teaching them about child protection is important and sensitising them about the dangers children face during the process of growth.”
- “I introduced the need to have a policy in my school for protecting children so that can be guarded and protected within the school compound.”
- “I started life skills club in the school. This helped to identify cases in my reach and I know where and how to report. I also use the school, family and church platforms to advocate for child rights. I encouraged the school to look into the development of a policy.”
- “In whatever I do, I make sure that everything is done in reflection of the skills I have attained from the training. I tried to sensitise my fellow sisters and workmates about the rights of children and how we can work hand in hand to fight child abuse, exploitation in our communities and the society at large.”
- “To be the voice for the voiceless by helping the children who are in need where possible. Protecting the rights of children and helping them to understand their responsibility.”
- “I take part in working with policies because it helps me to reduce the burden of struggling to bribe or defend oneself when a calamity occurs. It is easy to solve problems and defend oneself when policies are in place. There are many ways we harm children even if we don’t deal with them directly.”
Mission Sustainability training
- AACSS Uganda Team trained 26 sisters, from 24 different congregations, participated in the first phase and 16 participants were trained for the second training of Mission Sustainability training after the Malawi having trained 8 sisters in April 2022 in Mission Sustainability. So, in total Uganda trained 50 sisters in Mission AACSS from different congregations.
- We trained congregation bursars, project coordinators, community bursars and AACSS Ecclesiastical and Diocesan coordinators. The trainers of mission sustainability were trained in April 2024 in Malawi 8 participants who trained the first phase of the sisters in mission sustainability from 11th to 17th December 2022,
- We carried out local fundraising of 10,000 USD to train the second phase of the sisters in mission sustainability from 25th February to 2nd March 2024 at the Association of Religious in Uganda (ARU) headquarters, Kampala, Uganda.
Impact of AACSS
Generally speaking, about 95% of the professionally trained are all working with schools as teachers and counselors, others are counselors at the health centers, formators in the formation houses, counselors in organizations, some are lecturers, administrators in universities and institutions of higher learning, to mention but a few. This work is in different countries of Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, as well as Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan, Congo, Botswana in South Africa, and Canada as well as UK where some of the AACSS beneficiaries are ministering.
The following are some of the interview results from formators and directors of some organizations about the sisters working with them as counselors as well as, in their specific ministries.
- “She is a very resourceful person in the hospital she is able to diagnose psychological issues and advice accordingly, something that was lacking in the hospital”.
- “I was stuck on how to address an important issue among the postulants, but when I invited the counsellor, the counselor implored an approach (psychosocial methodologies) that made all postulants participate… to me it was a self- discovery how she managed it” said one of the formators
- “Sometimes we are overwhelmed by groups who are in for counselling during prayer services, leading to stressful situations, but our sisters here help us overcome such in a very calm way… by the time you realize your stress levels have gone down counselling is a very important profession” said one of the directors of prayer center.
- “We are overcrowded with over 1800 vulnerable children at the Centre, when sister is around is a big relief… the way he handles both children and care takers is un equaled and we miss her… I can say that she has a gift in calming other’s nerves down… she has gained a lot from counselling” Said one of the directors of a care institutes.
- “These sisters!! Oh my God! How can I explain their contribution… they have done much since after the course compared to their previous performance…? I am overwhelmed by the feedbacks I get about the approach of reaching out to people and relating to them… I wish we have many of them”
- “I cannot point out one to have contributed better than the other, the one in school the teachers and pupils are appreciating the good working relations and teamwork built, the one in the hospital is both a nurse and a counsellor while the other is a controller of heads of congregations business and mothers are happy the way she approaches individuals… others have to take a leaf from her”
The following are some of the successes registered after Mission Sustainability training:
- Poultry project of local birds to support the community,
- Working on the congregation strategic plan,
- Raised money for rain water tank,
- Raising money to buy land to build community vocational centre,
- Initiated culture of saving for the community and doing small scale business of selling bitenge from Congo
- Raised fund to extend construction for the elderly and the sick
- Established canteen to sell items for the community which can now pay water bill for the community.
- Established Banana plantation for the institute among others.
