ACWECA: Strathmore University and ACWECA Launch Sisters Blended Value Project (SBVP)
Sr. Helen Kasaka, LSMI
The Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa has commended Hilton Conrad Foundation for the support it is giving to the Sisters in the region through ACWECA.
Speaking during the launch ceremony on Wednesday at Strathmore University Business School, the Secretary-General Sr. Bridgita Samba of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Mombasa, said the Hilton Foundation has been with ACWECA from the inception of the project through the first phase of implementation with Miller Centre in the USA and now as we transition to, and chart the way forward with our new partner, Strathmore University, through the Strathmore Business School.
The Secretary-General appreciated the fact that Hilton Foundation saw the need for ACWECA to have a local partner that understands the concrete environment within which ACWECA operates and offered support.
‘We appreciate the trust shown to us and to our partner Strathmore Business School (SBS), by the Hilton Foundation Team. Your visit and time with us here today is an attestation of your commitment to this partnership. For this reason, ACWECA promises to continue to collaborate with the SBS to ensure that Sisters continue to benefit to the full, from this partnership and from the support of Hilton Foundation,” she said.
Sr. Bridgita added that the SBVP is a holistic approach intended to transform the ministries of Congregations into sustainable social enterprises.
“For us as ACWECA, seeing the joy, enthusiasm and hope for the change in the Sisters who are participating in the program is our joy. Already we are receiving so many requests from individual Sisters and Congregations that want to be part of the project. Yet we can only work with so many congregations at a time,” she said.
She further acknowledged the Strathmore Team for accepting to develop the capacity of Catholic Sisters, to enable them to build sustainable social enterprises.
“Thank you Strathmore Team and Hilton Foundation for devoting your knowledge, time, energy, expertise, resources, and all, to ensure that the Sisters get the best from this partnership. Our hope is to expand the program to all the national associations in the region, as well as bring more Congregations and individual Sisters on board so as to achieve the goal of an empowered consecrated women capable of positively impacting the society with entrepreneurial skills for deeper evangelization”.
Sr Samba highlighted that through the SBVP program, “Sisters will be on the forefront of tackling head-on, the scourge of poverty and to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
“I want to believe and to dream that one day, in a few or many years to come, our society, and in extension, the global community will be a better place because of this SBVP program,” she said.
In his remarks the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Vincent Ogutu expressed gratitude to Hilton Foundation and ACWECA.
The Vice President of Strategy and Programs, Marc Holley explained that the Catholic Sisters’ program is the largest project that the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation works with.
He explained that the programs are local because it is local people who are most likely to have insights into their solutions. “This is what these Sisters do on a daily basis and I have deep respect for your commitment to your respective communities,” Marc Holley said.
Meanwhile, the Associate Vice President of Programs and Head of Catholic Sisters Initiative, Sr. Jane Wakahiu of the Little Sisters of St. Francis (LSOSF) applauded Strathmore for its credibility and emphasized the need for partnerships in the mentorship of Catholic Sisters, saying, “At the Hilton Foundation, we may be having resources through our founding father, Conrad N. Hilton but those resources ourselves from the foundation may not have meaning if we did not have partners like you in Strathmore University, ACWECA and AOSK represented here”, she said.”
Dr. Vincent Ogutu expressed gratitude to ACWECA and Hilton Foundation saying: “Thank you so much for choosing to work with us, we are more than excited to be working with you and we look forward to being a part of the missions that you have across the continent. We are more than glad to help you out because you touch society. Strathmore was started by a charitable trust and our entire reason for being here is to save society. If we can empower you to do that will give you a higher chance of success by sharing any knowledge, any experience that we have in business that is fantastic and makes us even happier than when we are helping maybe a four profit business that comes to us and say we are already making money how can we make more. But you can imagine how happy we are knowing that you are going to make money in order to help your communities and other families.”
On her part the Ag. Executive Dean, Dr. Angela Ndunge gave an overview of the project’s progress.
“The SBVP is a unique project of acquiring business skills to sustain the Sisters’ ministries which aim to serve the poor and vulnerable people especially children, youth, and women. The Blended Value Project provides income generation opportunities to meet the basic needs of the congregations and the people they serve,” she said.
