Brian Cavanagh – An Outstanding Educator
Jo Wright, rsc
Brian Cavanagh, aged 93, died at his home in Bunga on Tuesday May 10th 2016. Brian came to Uganda from his native Ireland .61 years in Uganda. His funeral was held on May 12th at his home followed by burial at the Stokes’ family cemetery five minutes’ walk away.A gentleman named Brian after Brian Cavanagh, who had been taught to read many years ago by Brian, was the M.C. The first person he called on to say a word was Robert Kabumbuli, an adopted son of Brian’s. Robert thanked all present who had come to celebrate the life of Brian. He then read from emails received from family and friends. Among the emails were the ones that came from Ireland from Sr. Doreen Boland and Sr. Carmel Flynn, both of whom knew Brian well. read more > >
The Holy Door of God’s Mercy
With the whole Church we are entering into the Jubilee Year of Mercy. During this year, Pope Francis invites us to enter the holy door of God’s mercy and to journey in pilgrimage towards receiving and living more deeply God’s mercy. Let us enter with desire and joy the holy door of God’s heart. God is inviting us anew, "Come to me (Mt 11: 28-29), come into my heart where mercy dwells.
In this Holy Year, Sophie1 would be reminding us, as does Francis, "Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy … Jesus of Nazareth by his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God." (Misericordiae Vultus, 1) She would ask us to enter with trust, desire and expectation the holy door of Jesus’ heart, confident that God wants to share with us anew God’s merciful love. read more > > >THE DOOR OF MERCY AT NAWONATAO, KARAMOJA
Sisters with the Catechists to open the doors of the outstation chapels. Then, when I read the program the parish priest had prepared afterwards, there was nothing written about it.
I mentioned it to our Parish Priest on the phone and he said "It is OK"... It was not written in the program all the same. Fortunately, Roman rubrics and the like have not yet penetrated into the hearts of our people.
read more>>>
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST PROFESSION OF VOWS IN THE SOCIETY OF THE SACRED HEART OF MARY ATUKUNDA 21ST AUGUST 2015 NOVITIATE COMMUNITY, MBIKKO, UGANDA.
Postulants with a liturgical dance lead the procession to the site of the vow ceremony on the grounds of Novitiate, Mbikko.
read more.
Environmental Initiatives for the Care and Sustainability of Mother Earth.
Last month, June 2014, the RSCJ Wisdom group, Uganda/Kenya Province, shared a challenge that was put to them by our General Council members regarding the environment. (cf Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, www.rscjinternational.org
We have been heartened by the response to this challenge and the following are some of the ways RSCJ together with our colleagues and students are being more consciously caring for our environment, and its sustainability.
As a result of Sr. Rose Banura’s sharing with colleages at the Uganda Spiritual Formation Centre regarding the sustainability of the environment, the Centre has planted trees on the 4 acres of land they own.
E-READER LAUNCH AT LAINI SABA SCHOOL ON 7TH JUNE 2014
The idea of e-readers was sold to us by Sr. Irene Cullen rscj (Sr. Renie). It was so exciting that I could not wait to see and experience how they are working. Renie offered to solicit funds and also to guide me through the whole process of having them reach Kenya – Laini Saba.
This process went on smoothly with very good network and communication with Sr. Renie, World Reader office and myself. I am grateful for the time that I was given to learn. Sr. Renie sponsored 50 – e-reader device kits for Laini Saba Primary and Nursery School, Kibera, Nairobi. This school is located in the heart of the Kibera informal settlement and serves 472 students.
The training by World Reader under normal circumstances is to be done in four days then the official launch. We requested to have it staggered over 3 months with the Project Manager and Teacher Training taking place on April 14th and 15th. Student training took place on May 12th while the community launch event took place on June 7th, 2014.
Having these E-books devices for our students is a great dream realized. As we all may have experienced many of our children especially here at Kibera are not able to readily access books for reading. Aware too of the many distractions in the slum, for example, videos, play stations etc, there is the need for us to vary our approach in order to emphasize the need for intensive and extensive reading. I feel confident with the excitement and the love for this new approach in reading, that our children and teachers shall improve the overall performance of the school. By the time the learners will complete reading the 105 books on the devices, there will surely be a positive change of attitude towards learning and developing in our pupils a culture of reading..
Working with Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC)
Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC) is a society of children up to the age of 14 years and is under the patronage of the Holy Father for the evangelization of the world. PMC concentrates its efforts on teaching the Catholic Faith to children, promoting their rights and providing assistance in situation where children are suffering due to various reasons.
Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC) is a society of children up to the age of 14 years and is under the patronage of the Holy Father for the evangelization of the world. PMC concentrates its efforts on teaching the Catholic Faith to children, promoting their rights and providing assistance in situation where children are suffering due to various reasons......
Aude Ansiaux, a young medical doctor from Belgium shares her experience working as a volunteer living in community with the Sacred Heart Sisters and working in Chekalini Health Centre, Kenya. Councillor, to Uganda/Kenya Province - May 6th – 23rd, 2014.
Aude Ansiaux
Before explaining what I lived during the volunteering experience, I would like to thank the Sacred Heart Sisters of Chekalini community for their warm welcome. I was accepted as a member of the family, even being a non rscj, they welcomed me as one of them and at the same time I felt free and independent… I decided to do a volunteering project for many different reasons. I’ll try to explain what I’ve lived during more than 5 months. I wanted to discover the daily life of the Sisters, and to live the Gospel concretely, as in Acts. I’m really admiring the life that they are living, devoted 100% in their ministries.
I wanted to offer this period to the Lord, and to take time to reflect about my faith. Far from my country, job, family, friends, it was also a moment of reflection about the life I’m living in Brussels. How do I live with God in Belgium? Here, we pray together in the community, but also at school, at work, and God is everywhere and it’s normal for everybody. But in Belgium, it’s sometimes difficult to talk about your faith...
ACCOUNT OF THE OPENING OF THE CHOOSE LIFE HOME BASED CARE CENTRE FOR HIV + PEOPLE
On Saturday, March 22nd, the first centre for those living with AIDS in Karamoja, Uganda, was opened in Moroto. From now on this will be the place where the many activities of Choose Life start from. Here the Volunteers will meet to report on their visits to clients in various parts of Moroto and the nearby villages and to discuss how to help those who are not doing well. Here the educators will meet to plan their visits to the schools which have children whose parents are HIV+ and here they will meet the children after school to help them keep up with their school work. The tailoring group of clients (a particularly poor and needy group) will meet at the centre every day to earn a little money making uniforms and bead bracelets and necklaces and have lunch. From here our Sisters will go to visit HIV patients in Moroto Hospital, most of them in the TB ward. Here in the Centre there will be also a monthly General Clients Meeting for all the clients to share and discuss relevant topics such as stigma, anti-retroviral medicines (how they work), family problems due to being HIV+, alcohol abuse etc. Now, at last, there is a completely private room for counseling which will in time be put to good use.
Choose Life Centre was active from very early in the morning of March 22nd with last minute decorating and first preparations for a meal for 300. There was a remarkable spirit of joy and collaboration. 15 clients worked happily and harmoniously with Sarah Kakai (a nurse in Moroto Hospital) in the kitchen area...
GOLDEN JUBILEE OF SR. JOSEPHINE WRIGHT RSCJ
Sr. Jo’s Golden Jubilee was celebrated at Ggaba, Kampala, on March 9th, 2014, exactly 50 years from the time she made her First Vows in Kenwood, Albany, NY on March 9th, 1964.
It was a very special occasion. Jo came back to Uganda only on February 18th, having been about 6 months home in Canada for medical reasons. The final verdict of the doctor that she was ready to return filled her with joy. Three members of the Ggaba community went to meet her at Entebbe airport to welcome her back home to the Uganda-Kenya Province. She went into retreat almost immediately with Sr. Nancy Koke; Nancy and Jo accompanied one another in what was a deeply graced retreat for each of them.
Meanwhile a lot of communicating went on between the members of the Buganda area to plan for the day. Our Sisters of the Buganda Area (Kalungu, Kyamusansala, Mbuya , Ggaba and Mbikko) and Jennifer Simwa from Kenya, and Margie Conroy and Paulina Lopez from Karamoja, came to be with Jo for her jubilee and with Nankya for her sharing on probation. Ggaba community volunteered to do most of the work, i.e. the cooking and preparation of the venue, while Josephine Mbayira, the area coordinator, prepared for a session before the Mass where Sr. Susan Nankya could speak about her experiences in Rome for five months, preparing for final profession.
The day before the celebration a large open tent was set up on the lawn and chairs put in place. There we would enjoy any cooling breeze there might be from the heat of the dry season..........
UGANDA ALUMNAE/I TO JOIN AMASC
The Uganda Association of Sacred Heart Alumnae/i (UASHA) is in its final stages of joining the international body of AMASC (World Association of Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred Heart). This was disclosed at the just concluded First General Meeting held on Saturday,
22nd February 2014 at Ggaba Convent of the Sacred Heart Sisters.
AMASC is the international association of alumnae/alumni of the Sacred Heart. It was formed in1960 in Brussels at the request of the then Mother General, Reverend Mother de Valon, who saw the important and vital role the alumnae and alumni could play in fostering the work and spirit of the Society of the Sacred Heart (the Catholic Order of Nuns founded by St Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800).
In Uganda, the Society of the Sacred Heart has, since 1962, been involved in a number of charity and educational projects with youth at primary, secondary and tertiary education, counseling, health care, AIDS education programs and work with special needs children. Many generations of students have passed through its schools, and are now professionals in different fields of employment in and around Uganda. These schools include: St. Charles Lwanga Girls.Training Centre (GTC)-Kalungu, Kangole Girls Secondary School in Moroto, Christ the King, Kalisizo, and former Nkozi Teachers’ Training College and Sacred Heart Primary School, Kyamusansala, Masaka.
From 2010 through 2013, a number of meetings, coordinated by Sr. Elizabeth Nakayiza, were held with a team of alumnae who worked towards finalizing an alumnae/i association, Uganda Association of the Sacred Heart Alumnae (UASHA) with a constitution......
SISTER BETTY SUSAN NANKYA NSANJA´S INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MÉXICO PROVINCE 22 NOVEMER 2012 - JUNE 2013.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the Lord for the gift of my vocation, the gift of my life and the gift of my Sisters in this family of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I am very grateful to my provincial, Sr. Hilda Bamwine, and her council who trusted and believed in me hence sending me to this province of Mexico to make known the love of God through the service of education which transforms. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn Spanish.
My heartfelt gratitude also goes to the province of Mexico for receiving me in their province. Muchas gracias!
As we all know from our Constitutions # 156 which states that in our Society, international communion is created by the interaction of the provinces throughout the world and by the richness of our diverse cultures. We are called to become one body in Christ; each member needs the other in order to give and receive support and dynamism and to be directed towards a common aim. This call demands a real conversion, and commits us to seek after justice and communion. Only at the price of such conversion can we claim that we are able to see beyond our own horizons.
My first community was the provincial community where I stayed while working on the papers required for me to be able to stay in Mexico. I then moved to Miramar community for one month and in January to Leon community where I stayed from January until I returned to Uganda in June. In Leon we were seven RSCJs in the community. 2 young professed and 5 finally professed...
ELIZABETH NAKAYIZA'S GRADUATION.
RSCJ of Uganda/ Kenya province celebrated Elizabeth Nakayiza's graduation from Nkumba University in Kampala where she was conferred the degree of doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.). At the commencement ceremonies that took place on October 19, 2013 on the Nkumba University grounds more than 1700 degrees were granted. Elizabeth was the first student among all graduands to be called individually to receive her degree from Chancellor Sir Gordon Kasibante Babala Wavamunno. Elizabeth's mother and cousin Marie as well as Sr. Hilda Bamwine, provincial of the Uganda/Kenya province; Sr. Ann Jablonski, RSCJ from the United States –Canada province; and Fr. Ambrose Bwangatto of St. Mbaaga National Seminary, attended the event to support Elizabeth.
RSCJ, family and friends celebrated Sr. Nakayiza's achievement first in her home area of Kyamulibwa in the Masaka district on October 20 and later at the Ggaba community in Kampala on October 26. Both celebrations began with a Mass of Thanksgiving followed by entertainment, lunch and speeches. At the party at Ggaba, Sr. Elizabeth spoke of the support she received from her community, her family and her friends. She recounted: “I want to go through the journey with you. . . I am grateful for my family represented here. I thank you