KENYA: “Safeguarding is a Sacred Mission, Not Just a Policy,” Says SICS Director at Launch
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Nearly seven years after Pope Francis challenged the global Church to embed safeguarding in all its pastoral activities, that call has taken concrete shape in Africa with the launch of the Safeguarding Initiative for Catholic Sisters (SICS) in Nairobi, built on the conviction that protecting the vulnerable is not a policy exercise but a sacred mission.
Addressing hundreds of participants during the launch that brought together women Religious, clergy, bishop, and partners on Thursday, February 20, the Director of SICS Sr. Jacinta Ondeng emphasized that safeguarding flows directly from the heart of the Gospel.
“Safeguarding is not just a policy; it is a sacred mission that flows from the heart of the Gospel, rooted in compassion, justice, care, support, and love. It calls us to protect the dignity of every human person and to respond to those who have been wounded,” Sr. Ondeng declared and continued, “Safeguarding is more than just following guidelines, it is embodying the very essence the Church which Christ calls us to be. It is a call to conversion.”
According to the member of the Religious institute of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND), response to Pope Francis call has grown into a fully-fledged, Africa-focused programme dedicated to the protection of Catholic Sisters in Kenya, Uganda, and beyond.
Sr. Ondeng traced the initiative’s roots to 2019, when Pope Francis convened presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of the Catholic Church across the world, the heads of the Oriental Catholic Churches, the representatives of the Union of Superiors General, and the members of the Roman Curia and of the Council of Cardinals and issued a passionate appeal for the Global Church to include safeguarding in all its pastoral activities.
In his address for the meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church”, which took place in the Vatican from 21 to 24 February 2019, the late Holy Father said, “I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas, on the part of all authorities and individuals, for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth: this is demanded by all the many victims hidden in families and in the various settings of our societies.”
The Safeguarding Initiative housed at Tangaza University since 2023, has since offered formation in safeguarding to clergy across various dioceses in Kenya and beyond, to pastoral agents, religious communities, formation houses, and Catholic institutions.
It has also strengthened its commitment to providing comprehensive safeguarding formation for future clergy at Tangaza University itself.
The Kenyan nun outlined a rich trail of continental engagement that preceded the launch of the Sisters-focused programme. She said: “In September 2024, at the invitation of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences in Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and Missio Aachen, the initiative played a significant role at a conference held in Lomé, Togo, bringing safeguarding formation to over 200 superiors of locally-founded women congregations in Africa.”
Besides, she narrated, “In February 2025, the team held training in Dar es Salaam for the leadership of women congregations in Tanzania, with approximately 90 superiors in attendance. Then in June 2025, the initiative was represented at the International Safeguarding Conference in Rome held under the theme Women of Faith, Women of Strength, preceded by a three-day networking workshop on safeguarding women religious.”
Throughout this journey, Sr. Ondeng noted, it became clear that beyond formal safeguarding formation, there was an urgent need to bring these conversations into what she called the “convent kitchens” the everyday spaces where sisters live, struggle, and carry their wounds in silence.
“It became evident that besides the general formation in safeguarding, there was need to bring the discussion on safeguarding of women religious to our own convent kitchens, and to emphasise the importance of creating safe spaces where sisters can share their stories and woundedness, for necessary tools to be provided towards healing,” she said.
The newly launched programme co-funded by the Hilton Conrad Foundation and Missio Aachen, targets Catholic Sisters in Kenya and Uganda with a multi-pronged approach. Its components include an online e-learning course for women in initial formation; capacity-building training for all professed sisters and those in leadership; comprehensive care and support for survivors of abuse; collaboration with Catholic Sisters in the legal profession to address concerns and allegations; annual regional conferences; contextualised research on safeguarding; and consultancy services to religious communities and Church institutions.
Sr. Ondeng also underscored that a parallel safeguarding project for men religious congregations is currently in development.
Launched under the theme “Shared Charisms, One Commitment: A Synodal Journey in Safeguarding Catholic Sisters in Africa,” SICS director assured participants that the initiative will help the Catholic Church in Africa journey together to ensure that religious women who have dedicated their lives to her mission are themselves protected, heard, and accompanied with dignity.
