KENYA: Beneficiaries of Financial Management Training, Geared-up to Seal Loopholes
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Months after undergoing training on the significance of using financial management tools for control purposes, beneficiaries who comprised Religious women from five different congregations in Kenya, have promised to implement what they learned and seal the financial gaps that may exist in their systems.
“We have started with a committee of seven to spearhead how we can bring about this change in management of finances to help us in the future,” one of the beneficiaries Sr. Rebecca Adhiambo Otieno said in a video clip after the training and continued, “There are some things we do verbally and not I n writing, making it difficult for a follow-up.”
According to Sr. Adhiambo who is the Delegate Superior for the Camillian Sisters in Kenya, the congregation intends to develop a financial policy manual to help identify the loopholes in the structure of financial management and bring change.
The two-month training was initiated by the Centre for Research in Religious Life and Apostolate (CERRA-Africa) after research to find out the gaps Religious women have in their congregations.
CERRA- Africa is a project of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen the capacity, collaboration, and knowledge of Religious women in tracking critical information on the impact and sustainability of Religious life and Apostolate. It is a data Centre that supports Catholic Sisters to conduct and participate in action research, empowering them to make decisions about their lives and apostolate on tangible evidence as they focus on creating strong networks among congregations to enhance positive transformations in their sisters’ lives, ministries, and the communities they serve.
The Kenyan nun who has been at the helm of the congregation for three years, appreciated the strategy used by CERRA Africa to identify the gaps in congregations saying, “The approach CERRA Africa used to help congregations has been very enriching since they first began with a research to find out the gap. I therefore look forward to seeing our delegation make strides in managing better the little resources we have.”
She further shared the eagerness to see a delegation that is sustainable and with members who are empowered to use their skills and talents.
The training for members of the five congregations: Camillian Sisters, the Daughters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, the Daughters of St. Anne, the Nazareth Sisters, and the Sisters of Emmanuel, was conducted by Sr. Consolata Aloo, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna (FSSA) and the Executive Secretary for the Next Generation Leadership Programme (NGLP) at Tangaza University College (TUC), who has served for several years in various institutions on financial-related matters.
