ZAMBIA: Nun Involved With CRS’ SCORE-ECD Project Spurs Community To Development
A group photo of the SCORE ECD Champions after their training in Lilongwe, Malawi. The training was organised by ACWECA.
A Zambian nun involved in the Catholic Relief Services coordinated ‘Strengthening the Capacity of Women Religious in Early Childhood Development, (SCORE-ECD) project has an inexhaustible passion for the welfare of children and the community.
According to CRS SCORE-ECD project manager Ms. Bertha Mpepo, Sr. Ruth Kuyumba is a self-motivated nun who goes beyond her expected responsibilities as a master trainer.
“Sister Kuyumba’s implementation style, commitment to the project and passion for early childhood development brings reassurance that positive change is taking place in the target communities,” Ms Mpepo told this reporter in a recent online interview.
She explained that the Sisters of Mercy, the Congregation to which Sr. Kuyumba belongs, is one of the 18 Congregations from Kenya, Malawi and Zambia that are implementing the project. The project which is being implemented with funding from Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and coordinated by CRS is implemented through the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA). The Regional body in turn works in collaboration with the three national Associations that are implementing it.
The CRS SCORE-ECD regional coordinator Sr. Pauline Silver Acayo in Nairobi further explained that the Sisters through this project help families understand the importance of nutrition, breastfeeding and communicating early and effectively with their children.
“The sisters help to educate women on the importance of responsive care giving,” she said.
Before undertaking the role as master trainers, Sisters are trained on nutrition, early stimulation, positive parenting, exclusive breastfeeding, antenatal and postnatal care and general hygiene.
And in a bid to bring positive change in the community’s attitude around child development and care, Sr. Kuyumba makes weekly visits to project beneficiary households.
“The community leaders now recognize Sister Kuyumba as an ECD champion as she is constantly engaging with them in meetings aimed at increasing chances of realizing the goals of the project in Kasaba community,” Ms Mpepo said.
Meanwhile, the nun who is also the vocation directress of her congregation has no problem in balancing her time between ECD work, the Health centre where she is an intern on ECD related issues and her community life in the convent. She sets aside two days per week for community outreach, while two other days are in the hospital and the remaining three days she is full time in the convent.
And that is not all: Sister Kuyumba also has the highest number of men participating in neighbour group sessions. This according to Mpepo has resulted into high number of households being able to show physical Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) outputs such as making of tippy taps, building of toilets and construction of plate drying racks, among others.
The CRS SCORE-ECD Project Manager further explained that Sr. Kuyumba implements every lesson or skill she acquires. She said the nun has adopted some ideas from her counter parts in Kenya and implemented them in Kasaba.
looking at the camera together with her counterpart Mr. Tobias Opiyo
of Kenya during a training at Pine Cone Hotel in Kisumu, Kenya.
Photo by Sr. Grace Candiru.
“We have introduced table banking commonly known in our area as ‘Merry-go-round.’ I first introduced it to the Community Group Volunteers, (CGVs) commonly known as lead mothers before rolling it out to the households,” Sr. Kuyumba said.
She further explained that the amount to be contributed was decided by the mothers themselves based on their income level. She said this was done once a month as they come for their monthly neighbor group sessions.
“Each mother brings K20 (US $ 1.50) and since each group has ten members, the amount comes to K200 (about US$ 15) that is then shared to two members,” she said.
“I am happy to say that many mothers have started some small businesses with this money and they are able to support their families,” she noted with satisfaction.
The CRS SCORE ECD project manager who works closely with the implementing Sister Congregations said their assessment shows that mothers in the neighborhood have welcomed the initiative and are very happy with the idea of providing internal support to group members.
She further said that they were impressed with Sr. Kuyumba.
“I believe Sister’s attitude towards her work is a general reminder of Religious women’s call to serve the children and the vulnerable in the community. Her efforts highlight the value of working with passionate sisters that can be molded into experts of a particular field,” she said.
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