KENYA: At Centennial Celebration of Loreto Sisters, Archbishop Kivuva Emphasizes Education as Driving Force to Development
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
At the celebration of 100 years of service in East Africa for the the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, the Archbishop of Mombasa Archdiocese Most Rev. Martin Kivuva has stressed the significance of education as key to development in a society.
Appreciating the work of the Sisters whose ministries among others include education in schools with focus on girl-child, Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde noted that the Loreto Sisters have made a great difference in the society when it comes to education.
Speaking on Saturday, January 29, during the event which was attended not only by the alumni and current students of Loreto schools but also the Religious, clergy, government officials and people from all walks of life, Archbishop Kivuva who is also current Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) noted the need of the government to offer more support in education for better learning.
“We have the sector of education which is actually the key driving force to development. Without education, we have no country,” the Kenyan Prelate said adding, “the best gift you can give to anyone – your son or daughter – is not a big house or land but education so that they are able to buy their own land and discern how to live best as guided by the principles that are imparted by our Catholic institutions.”
“I am always proud of any of those people I meet out there who went through our missionary schools; those who decided to remain with the values that were taught in school; those who decided to keep up with the life of prayer, hard work and the discipline they were taught,” Archbishop Kivuva said appreciating the Catholic ethos imparted on learners by the Church’s learning institutions.
In his observation, the support given by the government to citizens in terms of education is not enough.
“We took responsibility to visit many countries in the world including Europe and beyond and came to realize that many countries pay school fees up to university for all their citizens. I am sure we can do the same,” the Archbishop underscored emphasizing that this can happen “if there is no wastage of government resources and no corruption.”
“It is so painful to talk about this. We say education is free in Kenya but we have not gotten there yet,” The Archbishop of Mombasa lamented, asking aspirants for presidency in the forthcoming General Elections slated for the month of August this year to consider free education as one of their manifestos to be fulfilled after their election.
He emphasized on having a social sector that is active, lamenting that the colleges are collapsing because of poor management yet “We can make our nation a country to envy if children study and complete their studies.”
On her part, the Provincial leader for Loreto Sisters in Eastern Africa Province Sr. Lucy Nderi appreciated the missionary sisters who first laid the foundation and helped the Congregation grow.
In her speech, Sr. Lucy disclosed that as the congregation closes the centennial year and marks the beginning of the next 100 years, Loreto Sisters are “invited by God, by the Church and by the needs of the world, to enter into a deeper reflection, deeper listening, and deeper discernment on how best we can continue engaging and making our Charism alive and relevant in Africa and the world.”
She reflected on the life of the foundress of the Congregation, Mary Ward, whom she said was prophetic in her response to the needs of her time and asked all the Loreto Sisters to emulate their foundress and “be prophetic in responding to the current needs of the world.”
The Loreto Eastern Africa Province comprises of three countries and was established in 1921. It has 24 educational Institutions; 21 in Kenya, two in Tanzania and one in Ghana.
