By Sr. Editrudis Kajuna – OLGC, Project Coordinator, Counselling Hub
Over the past three years, since 2023, the Religious Sister Counsellors Network Initiative (RSCNI) has grown into a strong and credible network operating across Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia, with a central Counselling Hub in Uganda and satellite hubs closer to congregations and communities.
During this period, RSCNI has journeyed with over 1,000 religious sisters and in professional psychological counselling. These include sisters in active ministry, leadership, and formation who were facing trauma, burnout, grief, anxiety, depression, vocational stress, and challenges of community living. Many have regained emotional stability, clarity, and renewed capacity for mission, leadership, and healthy relationships. More than 100,000 Lay people have been served by the network.
RSCNI is a faith-rooted, professionally grounded response to the growing mental health and psychosocial needs of religious sisters and the communities they serve in Sub Saharan Africa. Established under the All-Africa Conference: Sister to Sister (AAC: SS), it was created to address a critical gap: the lack of accessible, confidential, and context-appropriate psychological support within religious life.
The network currently comprises of 103 trained sister counsellors. With gratitude for their contribution and service, we remember two members who passed on during this journey. May they rest in peace. Their legacy continues through the lives touched by the network.
Counselling is provided by trained religious sisters, embedded within the lived reality of religious life and guided by professional ethics, supervision, and a trauma-informed counselling approach. Beyond individual counselling, RSCNI offers workshops, psychoeducation sessions, and capacity-building programs for congregations, leaders, and communities. These workshops address themes such as mental wellness, trauma awareness, community living, emotional resilience, leadership stress, and safeguarding. For congregations and formation houses, RSCNI also provides psychological assessments for candidates in formation, supporting healthier discernment, accompaniment, and long-term vocational wellbeing.
Congregational Superiors and entire religious communities are urged to intentionally prioritize mental health by encouraging members to seek professional psychological support when needed. Early intervention prevents deeper crises and strengthens both individuals and institutes.
In a context where mental-health stigma and limited services persist, RSCNI stands as a living testimony that professional counselling, when rooted in faith, compassion, and competence, brings healing, restores dignity, and renews hope.
