Sr. Grace Candiru, MSMMC
As countries worldwide confirm cases of COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to surge, African countries that make up the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa, (ACWECA) have not been spared.
The ACWECA Secretary General, Sr. Helen A. Bandiho in a letter dated 20thApril 2020, to the Member Conferences noted with concern that the region was not safe, saying “We may not have reached the climax.”
“This pandemic is real and an invitation to read the signs of times and respond accordingly,” warned Sr Helen, adding that COVID-19 was a challenge to everything they had planned to accomplish this year.
The Secretary General singled out the 18th ACWECA Plenary Assembly which is scheduled to take place in August this year, saying the Organization’s Executive Board would soon make a decision on it.
She explained that the Plenary Assembly which is a triennial event brings together delegates from all the countries in the region to discuss issues related to sisters’ ministry in relation to their consecrated life.
In addition, the Regional body has also been forced to cancel a six-week formation program that was scheduled to commence early this week at their Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya. Also, the implementation of five other formation programs that were scheduled to take place either in the countries in the region or at the Secretariat within the first half of the year remain unclear.
Re-echoing the fears of scientific experts, Sr. Bandiho noted with concern the rising cases of confirmed infections and deaths on the continent.
“The whole of Africa has rising number of cases and some experts say that the continent is moving from COVID-19 readiness to response as many confirmed cases in some countries are increasing,” she observed.
At the time of writing this article, the pandemic had killed over 50 and infected nearly 1,200 people in the ACWECA region, while the cumulative confirmed cases of infections and deaths on the African continent stood at 28,220 and 1,301 respectively, according to John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.
Sr Helen Bandiho went on to encourage the Religious Sisters in the region to do what they could possibly do within their charisms to show generosity, love and care for the poor beyond their convents.
Although most governments in the region have closed down schools and banned other social gathering, she encouraged the Sisters to come up with ways of educating the people about the virus.
She noted with concern that knowledge on Coronavirus was still needed as some people still think this disease is for the rich or people in the West.
“We have poor people who are being taken advantage of because of their ignorance,” she further observed.
Sr Bandiho who recently took over the leadership of the Regional Secretariat went on to challenge the nuns to come up with other ways of addressing the challenges posed by the virus.
“What are we doing as ACWECA Sisters to address this pandemic in our own small ways?” she asked, adding that more still needs to be done as the pandemic is still in our midst. She also urged the Sisters to share ways in which their congregations are responding to COVID-19, which she said would be shared and learning experience for others.
ACWECA is a regional body of Religious women congregations made up (10 English speaking countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe as an associate member.