KENYA: Setting-Up of Data Centers for Religious Women in Africa Underway
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
An initiative to set up a data centre which will be based in Kenya for Religious women in Africa and meant to store digitalized information for ease of accessibility, increase African women religious’ research skills and provide opportunities for them to engage in research projects, is underway.
At a virtual International Consultative Research (ICR) Conference that brought together Religious and lay researchers from various countries including Africa, the Head of Catholic Sisters Initiative at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Sr. Jane Wakahiu said there is need for Religious women in African to have a data centre since “there is no place for sisters to document the historical development of their congregations in a systematic way.”
To set up a data centre, Sr. Wakahiu a member of the institution of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis (LSOSF) said, “Partnership and collaboration for results and greater impact is key in our funding.” Hence the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK) have collaborated with Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) which is hosting the data hub and Tangaza University College (TUC), a constituent of CUEA for the realization of this dream.
During her presentation to nearly 60 participants, Sr. Wakahiu highlighted that data centre will “help to create a field for Sisters to learn from each other’s congregation.”
She added that the centre will help to “Document success and challenges of religious life in Africa,” it will help people “Learn how religious life is evolving in Africa” and “through research which is a pathway to learning, the information will help in developing and telling the Religious women stories for future generations.”
According to Sr. Wakahiu, the data centre initiative which is being facilitated by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation a family foundation whose aim among others is to “support Catholic Sisters to be recognized as global leaders in sustainable human development,” will be extended to Uganda in partnership with Association of the Religious in Uganda (ARU).
Hosting of the data hub will be at the University of Kisubi in Uganda, which the U.S-based Kenyan-nun says will help in developing “an Online Data Platform for data collection, storage, retrieval and dissemination.”
The data centre will also help “promote knowledge-sharing through strong data collection processes and practices in order to inform evidence-based decision making,” Sr. Wakahiu who is also the Associate Vice President of Program at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation said.
After the establishment of the two data centers Sr. Wakahiu underscored, “the model that works best of two will be rolled to other regions.”
