KENYA: Tracing MSOLA History in the Kenyan Catholic Church
NAIROBI, August 24, 2007 (CISA)- The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA) are celebrating a century of their work in Kenya. The main celebration will be on September 8 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, South B, Nairobi, at 10 a.m.

Four of the first six MSOLA in Kenya. They arrived at Mangu (Thika/Kenya) on 7th August 1907.

The Sisters and young women in formation living in Kenya today.

In this special report, Sr Maggi Kennedy MSOLA, who worked for many years in Mombasa, reflects on the history and work of the congregation:

Having spent 16 years in Mombasa, Kenya, I feel privileged to reflect on our Centenary and our place in the history of the Church in Kenya. It is a tribute to all the sisters who touched its soil: who taught, nursed, cared, and were present in so many creative and life-giving ways. God has surely worked great things and will continue to do so in the lives of those we have touched.

The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa were founded in 1869 in Algeria, North Africa, by Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, Archbishop of Algiers. Their first Superior General was Mother Marie Salome. They were quickly nicknamed “White Sisters” because of their white habit which resembled the clothing of Arab women.

Cardinal Lavigerie had seen the importance of women apostles among women and recognised their vital role in the transformation of society. He wanted his missionaries to be as close to the people as possible: eating their food, knowing and respecting their culture, knowing the language and respecting different faiths.

Lavigerie was a visionary, a man with an open mind. He longed for a Universal Church where all could be brothers and sisters and adapted to the times. He was prominent in the movement for the abolition of the slave trade. His action was important for the spread of the Gospel on the African continent. He even spoke at the Oxford Union in England. This pioneering thrust marks his missionaries even today.

The sisters were sent very quickly to differing parts of Africa, North Africa first and then West and Central Africa, Tanzania (1894), Uganda (1899), Congo (1895), Malawi (1897),Zambia (1902), Burundi (1906) and Kenya (1907)

At present we are 900 sisters from 29 nations. We are 134 communities - 43 in Africa, 74 in Europe, 15 in Canada, USA and Mexico, with Houses of Formation in Burkina Faso and Kenya. We live in international communities. Our general administration is in Rome.

Story begins

On the April 21, 1907, our first six sisters arrived on the exotic Coast of Mombasa - I have often wondered what they felt at that moment. Bishop Allgeyer, Holy Ghost missionary, then Apostolic Vicar of Zanzibar, requested the White Sisters to establish a Mission in Mang’u, Thika, 50 km north of Nairobi. In 1909 they would return to Mombasa to transform education for girls on the Kenyan Coast.

On the June 6, 1907, the sisters arrived in Mang’u to start the first MSOLA community in Kenya. They bought land on which they planted coffee and fruit trees to provide finance for their new projects. The trees flourished in the ideal climate. The Sisters learned Kikuyu language and the local customs.

The beginnings were hard. They began to visit people and to teach Catechism. A maternity, dispensary, orphanage and school where basic skills where taught were established. The school developed into Madaraka Primary School with Maria Goretti Hostel.

While education was provided for Africans, Asians and Europeans in Kenya, little was done for children of intercultural families and these children were often marginalized. The sisters, therefore, started a boarding school for these children from all three Eastern African countries. This later became Mary Hill Secondary School. Both boarding schools served students of all races.

In 1976 the two schools were handed over to the Assumption Sisters and Kenyan staff. In Keriko, near Thika, a dispensary was opened and the sisters taught in and headed a Harambee school (Harambee means ‘Working together’ in Kiswahili). The local community financed the school and we handed full responsibility over to them in 1989.

In 1981, Sr Edmonde was made a Kikuyu elder named Nyakio. She remained teaching in another Harambee school for poor children in Thika till 1989.

Other communities were established in Kiambu and Limuru near Nairobi. In Limuru, a school was established for boarders. It was later taken over by the Loreto Sisters. Some of those boarders formed the nucleus of a new local congregation, the Sisters of St Joseph, Bura, now in the Archdiocese of Mombasa. The congregation has now spread far and wide and has remained very close to us, working in education and pastoral fields.

In 1955, Archbishop McCarthy of Nairobi entrusted the formation of a new local Kenyan congregation to the MSOLA. They were to be known as the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Nairobi. The government of the congregation was handed over in 1970, under the leadership of Sr. Marie Theresa Gacambi and her Council.

Today, this vibrant group is no longer a diocesan congregation but is of Pontifical Right. The sisters serve in a number of dioceses in Kenya: in education, medical, pastoral and administration ministries in the service of the underprivileged. They maintain a special focus on women. Communities have also been established in Jamaica, in the West Indies and the USA.

Mombasa 1909

In May 1909, five sisters had begun to teach on the beautiful island of Mombasa amid temples, mosques and churches surrounded by the sparkling azure blue Indian Ocean, swaying palms and distinctive flavour of hospitality. Bishop Alleyer had requested the sisters to begin an English-speaking Catholic school.

The sisters also started a dispensary and visited the Government hospital. A small farm was started that could provide some income. In 1927, a new project was opened in Makupa, Mombasa, where women were taught sewing, cookery, hygiene, child care, religious instruction and ethics.

Classes were also given to Kenyan boys and girls (25 in 1921) made up of the school of seven nationalities. By 1932 the school catered for 90 children.

The Sisters were involved in many activities but the main focus was “The White Sisters Convent School,” which in 1954 became Star of the Sea School consisting of nursery, primary and secondary sections. Today, it provides education for more than a thousand girls from all religious faiths and cultures.

In 1975, the Sisters handed over the primary school to the Sisters of St Joseph of Mombasa. The Nursery School also was handed over to them in 1976. Finally the Secondary School became a High School and was handed over in the early eighties. The school was famous for its music and high educational standards.

Being open to all faiths promoted dialogue between faiths, especially Islam, and created precious contact with women and families which has deepened over the years. Our Srs. Thecla de Souza, Cecilia Commissariart, Vivian de Souza, Edith Quadros, Filo Pereira and Daphne Alphonso are past pupils. The family of Sr Zita Cardozo, originally from Zanzibar, settled in Mombasa, and it was from there that she entered the MSOLA.

Always reaching out

There was an urgent need for education for young Kenyans. The sisters recognized this need and in 1959 opened Marycliff Primary School, Tudor, a poorer part of the island. It was handed over in 1970 by Sr. Vivien de Souza to lay Kenyan leadership.

Women’s groups were founded in a number of areas. Savings and credit unions were also set up in answer to a need. On Mombasa Island there were 15 secondary schools in the 1970’s, so a hostel for girls was opened to assist those who needed accommodation while in school. Sr Zita Cardozo worked on this ecumenical project. The hostel is now Mama Ngina Secondary School and provides a very high level of education.

Religious Education became a priority of the 80's. As we had handed over the schools, a Religious Education Centre was established by Sr Marguerite Gemme and her team. The centre saw more than 800 teachers go through the Religious Education Awareness Programme (REAP) as well as the many and varied projects it offered.

In the 80's a new project for “Women in Distress”, SOLWODI, was set up by Sr. Lea Ackerman. It has now grown into an international body based in Germany but still has a centre in Mombasa. This has become even more essential now with the era of human trafficking and has been further developed to provide assistance for the children of women in distress.

In 1990, Star of the Sea Convent was handed over to the Archdiocese of Mombasa, though the sisters kept a presence nearby. A new community was established in Changamwe, some 10 kilometres off the island. AIDS ministry, together with building of SCC (Small Christian Communities) and the youth formed a priority.

One of the Sisters, Sr. Maggi Kennedy, developed the Social Communications Centre, still in the basement of the former convent. The Changamwe Community was handed over to the Sisters of Mary the Mother of God in 2003. The Star of the Sea Convent is now housing the Catholic Secretariat for the archdiocese. People still come to pray in the Chapel and the outside area is used for meetings.

In 1975, a House of Prayer Community was established in Kisii Diocese in the south west of Kenya. This was welcomed as a blessing by Bishop Tiberius Mugendi and offered a service of prayer for the local community and beyond.

In 1979 three members of the community died in a tragic road accident. The community was closed in the early 90's. Other projects began in Eldoret for education and youth. In Eldoret also three sisters pioneered Mitume Centre which trained catechists. Again these projects were handed over to African staff.

Sr Tini Holscher pioneered the work of the Association of the Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK) in the area of renewal and formation after Vatican II. She was at the heart of the Tumaini (Hope) Centre which has now grown into a new Centre: Chemi Ya Uzima (Swahili for “Fountain of Life”).

Over the years we, MSOLA, have been involved in the work of the AOSK, together with Association for Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA). This working together with different congregations is very much part of our tradition. We have formed 22 different local congregations together with a lay Institute for Widows in Africa, which we still support.

A new thrust

Moving away from institutions gave us a new thrust for the ‘option for the poor’. Communities opened in various areas in Nairobi: Kangemi, Eastleigh, Lang’ata, and Kibera, a slum of some 800,000 people. In all these areas the ministry was focused on ways to help the people, especially women, to care for themselves and their families.

Dollicraft at St Joseph the Worker Parish, Kangemi, Nairobi, facilitated by Sr Cecile Peloquin, became an income- generating project for more than 50 women. The project involved making African dolls of the different ethnic groups in Kenya. They became extremely popular with tourists. The group also made Church vestments in African fabric, which helped to encourage enculturation.

At St Michael's Parish, Lang’ata, run by the Guadalupe Fathers from Mexico our sisters pioneered the work of the Small Christian Communities. The sisters were key in this process just as they had been in Kangemi with the Jesuit Fathers.

In Eastleigh, East Nairobi, the sisters worked with the White Fathers (Missionaries of Africa) in Mathare valley, a place of appalling poverty. Sisters tried to raise the dignity of the people, with projects especially for women.

It is hard to imagine what these slums are like. Together with the fathers, they built up the Small Christian Communities which greatly assisted the people to sense that they belonged somewhere and that people cared.

Others in Nairobi have been involved with diverse ministries since the 1980's, such as ministries for those with physical disabilities, counselling of cancer patients, HIV/Aids ministry, counseling at all levels and education.

For a time a small community was established in Karen. A Cheshire Home was also set up in Limuru. Refugees in Kakuma Camp in the North Eastern Kenya were assisted for two years by Sr. Collette Joubert and Sr Dolores Fortier, in conjunction with the Jesuits.

African Province today

Nairobi is the centre for the four regions of the African Province: Eastern, Central, West and North Africa. We are present in 15 countries. Sr. Jocelyn Morin is our Provincial.

Sisters prepare a session at the Provincial House in Nairobi.
Sr. Jocelyn Morin, our Provincial is the second from the right.

At present, in Kenya, we are based only in Nairobi. Our four communities are in South B and C, and Guadalupe Parish. Sr. Christine Bahati-Safi is teaching in Laini Saba School, Kibera.

Other sisters are concerned with justice and peace work and in interfaith dialogue. South B welcomes students and there is an involvement in Mukuru Primary School for children from the slums and an orphanage.

South C Community acts as a missionary/vocational community, providing a contact point for those interested in our way of life. Young sisters in formation assist in the Small Christian Communities. We need personnel so we can continue to reach out to others. The needs are unending.

To express a 100 years in a few words is impossible. We can only say “thank you” to those who planted the seeds and those who continue to plant, water and reap. We are proud to have been part of this vibrant Kenyan Church. Hongera wote! (Congratulations to you all!)

(credit photo website Msola)

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KENYA: Centenary Message from MSOLA Generalate in Rome
ROME, August 24, 2007 (CISA) - The following message was sent from the MSOLA Generalate in Rome in February to members of the congregation, the local Church and MSOLA friends in Kenya:

We are happy to share with you today our deep gratitude to the Lord as we remember the great love He has shown for the Church of Kenya and for us in the past 100 years.

Our thanksgiving begins with the arrival of the first two Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, Sister Restitute and Sister Thomas de villeneuve, in Mombasa, on April 21, 1907.They continued their journey and reached Nairobi the following. Bishop Emile-Auguste Allegeyer, C.S.Sp, proposed to them to go Mang’u (Thika), a rather remote place, 50km from Nairobi.

Our two pioneers left on May 2 and arrived four days later in their new destination. The rest of the community, Sisters St Martial, St Yves, Maximilienne and St Guillaume, joined them on August 7. They started a dispensary and multicultural school known later on as Mary Hill School.

We may say that the hearts of these women were set on fire! They left their countries of origin forever, because they had heard Jesus calling them to proclaim the Good News to all the people of Africa; that they may know Him and make Him known in turn. Unable to silence God’s love burning within, this love led them uphill and down dale to commit themselves at the service of their brothers and sisters in Kenya.

We are proud of them and proud to have been God’s instrument in helping the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary come to birth in the Church of Kenya, during a particularly troubled time.

Remarkable events

Some events have marked us:

In 1953, our sisters of Thika in charge of 150 children are surrounded by the Mau Mau (freedom fighters) and are pressured to evacuate. On the strength of their missionary committed to be all things to all people and faithful to our founders instruction, ‘not to hesitate before any difficulty not even death, when it is a question of extending the kingdom of God,’ the sisters stay on, in solidarity with the people who did not want to deny their faith even to the shedding of their blood.

It is in this climate of insecurity, that the Archbishop of Nairobi, Mgr Joseph McCarthy C.S.Sp., comes to ask Mother Majella, the Regional Superior of that time, to open a postulate for the future congregation of the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our sisters (also known as white sisters) respond with enthusiasm to the archbishop’s request and to the expectation of these young women. The postulate is opened on February 2, 1955, with 13 postulants and 6 aspirants, and the novitiate on April 8, 1957, at Karibaribi.

Seventy years later, in 1976, the sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Kenyan staff took over the direction of the school and dispensary. The dream of our founder, Cardinal Lavigerie, was thus realised: “missionaries are to be initiators, for the lasting work will be done by the Africans themselves when they become Christians and apostles.”

Prophetic vision

It is not our aim right now to retell our history, so profoundly interwoven with yours. These hundred years lived among you have fashioned us. As daughters of Cardinal Lavigerie, we have tried to be true to his prophetic vision and to be open to the needs of the people in Kenya as situations unfolded and evolved.

Today, we simply want to celebrate with you in thanksgiving the welcome that our sisters received from those first Christian communities as well as the help and support that you have given us where we have lived and worked with you. We are also happy to recognise that action of the Holy Spirit who has called numerous missionary vocations among the sons and daughters of this country.

Indeed, there are plenty of reasons for our giving thanks to God! And so we enter this centenary year with the determination to continue with you the mission of Christ in Kenya.

Let us pray together to the Lord of the harvest that more and more young people of your country hear this call to go announce the Good News to other peoples in Africa and elsewhere.

May the charism which Cardinal Lavigerie received for the Church sink deep roots in the people of Kenya.

In this Centenary year for the missionary Sisters of Our lady of Africa, as well as for the Church of Kenya, may the Lord bless us and grant us to collaborate ever more in the proclamation of His Kingdom.

Signed: Sister Piluca Benavente (Superior General), Sister Helene Mbuyamba (Assistant General), Sister Marie-Alice Terrettaz (Assistant General) and Sister Chantal Vankalck (Assistant General)

Sr Hélène Mbuyamba (DRC) Sr Chantal Vankalck(Belgium)
Sr Piluca Benavente Serrano (Spain) Sr Marie-Alice Terrettaz(Switzerland)