KENYA: Mission of Reconciling Highlighted as Religious Women Discuss Their Role During Covid-19 Pandemic
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The need for being instruments of reconciliation in the world full of conflicts was a key highlight and reminder to Religious women during a webinar session conducted Saturday, November 7.
Addressing over 75 Religious women from various congregations across the globe, Sr. Elizabeth Nziwa Oyuka a member of the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi (ASN) congregation, reminded the nuns that “conflicts normally exist wherever people are” hence as servants of Christ, “we are to be instruments of peace and of reconciliation knowing that we are meant to be prophets of joy in people’s lives.”
While conflicts could be of different levels including individual conflict, interpersonal conflict or organizational conflict, Sr. Nziwa a lecturer at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) highlighted that strife is majorly caused by poor leadership style, lack of respect for others, pride, arrogance and individual differences among others.
Amidst various levels of conflicts, the nun from Kenya’s Kakamega Diocese reiterates Pope Francis’ message who said that “being ministers of reconciliation requires sowing peace all around us and being poor of heart.”
The second webinar convened by The Leaders Guild (TLG), a leadership development programme under the Centre for Leadership and Management (CLM), Tangaza University College, in partnership with the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK), comes as a follow-up session for Religious women who have been in the front line in the face of difficulties posed by the Covid-19 and seek creative ways of caring for those entrusted to their care in different apostolates and being in solidarity with the healers who are broken in one way or the other, especially psychologically as a result of the pandemic trauma.
On the theme ‘Conflict Management: Living as Ministers of Reconciliation and Countersign of disunity’ during the Saturday online session, Sr. Nziwa reminded the nuns that they are “called to be counter-signs of disunity,” and not “the people who cause disunity to others.”
“Remember our lives are mission and this is what we should portray to the world. We are not to be the cause of disunity,” Sr. Nziwa narrated.
