By. Sr. Eddie Kajuna…………….
The Religious Sisters Counsellors Network Initiative (RSCNI) is transforming mental health care services in Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia. Compassionately offering a listening ear and a heart-to-heart conversation with understanding, the RSCNI is helping to ease the stigma of seeking care, while bringing healing and hope to Religious Institutes and the general population.
The primary network, also known as the Counselling Hub, was established in Uganda, and satellite networks are being developed in Malawi and Zambia.
Mental health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa have created an overwhelming, unmet need for counselling services. In Uganda alone, the suicide rate increased by 34% from 2020 to 2024. In 2023, a devastating cyclone in Malawi left thousands to grieve unimaginable losses of loved ones and homes.
Thanks to generous support from the Hilton Foundation, this initiative supports Catholic Religious Sisters to address mental health issues with professionalism, compassion, and faith, combining their spiritual mission with professional training.
A unique framework for The Religious Sisters Counsellors Network
Religious sisters have long been champions of the marginalized, bringing hope and courage to those in the most challenging situations. Building on this legacy, the counsellors network unites professional sister counsellors to reach out to individuals and families in need, especially those on society’s periphery.
In communities with limited access to mental health services, the counselling initiative creates affordable, safe spaces for healing from loss, conflict, trauma, depression, addiction, and other challenges.
The network and available services continue to grow, thanks to a model with the components of Empowering sisters through professional training, Creating awareness through outreach, Establishing counselling satellites and Caring for the caregivers which recognizes that even the strongest caregiver need support.
Stories of transformation and hope
Through the dedicated work of professional sister counsellors, lives are being transformed where hope, healing, and resilience are restored. One sister shared, “.”When people come to the hub, they don’t just see a professional; they see someone who believes in their dignity, someone who cares deeply about their pain. That trust is where healing begins
A Sister came to the counselling hub in Kampala feeling overwhelmed by great fear and anxiety. Through her sessions with a sister counsellor, she came to understand that she had experienced a traumatic experience in her youth and a similar incident more recently. By working through that trauma, she felt restored in her own mental health and is now fully engaged in her role as a caretaker of the aged nuns in her congregation.
A couple came to the counselling hub, they were filled with fear about seeking help for their strained relationship. With counselling support, they learned how to see the underlying issues and set goals and priorities. For them, the stigma of mental health treatment is gone. They can clearly understand each other and have restored their loving marriage relationship.
A model for global change
In a world increasingly marked by isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety and despair, the Religious Sisters Counselling Network demonstrates how faith-based initiatives can complement professional expertise to create profound and lasting impact. An ever-growing network of sister counsellors will continue to nurture communities where mental health is valued and everyone has the opportunity to heal – one act of compassion at a time.
