Kingdom Yet to Come: Two Sisters of Charity Find Hope in Africa
February 19, 2007
LEAVENWORTH — “I gained a new awareness of Africa,” said Sister Therese Bangert, SCL, upon her return from two international gatherings in Nairobi, Kenya, “ and the belief that another world is possible.
“Call it hope in the kingdom yet to come.”
Sister Therese, social justice coordinator for the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, joined Sister Melissa Camardo, director of mission at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, Denver, Colo. in representing their religious community and the wider Charity Federation at the World Forum on Theology and Liberation from Jan. 16 -19 and the World Social Forum from Jan. 20 to 25.
While there, the Sisters also took the opportunity to meet with Vincentian Volunteers in Africa, and later traveled to Arusha, Tanzania to meet with hospital staff with whom Sister Melissa has ministry connections.
Theology Forum
Theologians, researchers and Christian grass-roots organizations from around the world were represented at the first forum, which was hosted by the Carmelite Fathers Center in Langata, a suburb of Nairobi.
A significant part of the theology forum, said Sister Melissa, focused on African spirituality and the reality of social issues that the continent faces, including unemployment and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“The Gospel is being lived in the lives of the poor in Africa,” she said. “We have so much to learn from the practical experiences of these people.”
Among other guest speakers was Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Sister Therese said he urged the attendees not to preach “pie in the sky theology,” but to instead act on God’s behalf now for justice and peace.
Social Forum
The World Social Forum (WSF) that followed provided a place for some 70,000 participants to engage in democratic debate and an open exchange of ideas on globalization, imperialism etc., as well as a place to form a network for effective action. This was the seventh annual WSF.
The opening ceremony was representative of the spirit and vibrancy that characterized the forum. Thousands gathered on the outskirts of the slums of the city, then walked for over an hour into the heart of Nairobi carrying banners and accompanied by drums. Thousands more watched from hillsides overlooking the procession, dancing and singing along the route.
Debt cancellation and relief for the world’s poorest nations were among major topics of discussion. The two Sisters of Charity attended sessions relevant to their ministries and the focus of their religious community. Those included sessions on water and the environment, mining, women and children.
Each two-and-a-half-hour session was facilitated by panel members from around the world. Both presenters and participants shared their experiences, discussed the range of challenges and suggested possible solutions.
“I felt as though I was part of a torrential downpour of knowledge and spirit,” Sister Therese said.
Sister Melissa said the forum brought her to the realization that many social issues are multi-faceted and international in scope; for example, fair trade and gender inequity.
“There is an interconnectedness of social movements, and all people are impacted by this on a daily basis,” she said.
“The experience of the forum was emotionally draining and, at the same time, paradoxically uplifting,” she added. “There was a positive energy present and a celebrative spirit as we shared cultures and dialogued about issues.”
Sister Melissa noted that an issue like climate exchange that is just becoming mainstream in the United States was of tremendous interest at the forum. The Sisters heard presentations by three women who have been recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, including Wangari Maathai, alumna of Mount St. Scholastica College (now Benedictine College, Atchison, Kan.).
Postscript to the Journey
Both Sisters have been sharing stories of their journey to Africa — Sister Melissa with staff at her hospital and Sister Therese, with her partners in social justice. Sister Therese is also determining how to incorporate the experience into the social justice ministry of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.
“For certain, grace was moving during the social forum,” Sister Therese recalled. “I could feel it almost tangibly.”
How to sustain the dialogue and bridge continents, cultures and concerns will be the next leg of the journey of these two Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.
Contemporary Youth Stories from Nairobi, Kenya: The Impact of AIDS in Their Lives
Notes Compiled by Sister Therese Bangert, SCL
Onyango is a 13-year-old boy. He and his five brothers and sisters are orphans. AIDS took away both Dad and Mum. They are now staying with their grandmother who is sickly and old. “Everyday I have to wake up early to go and sell sukuma wiki at the little market not far from our hut. At times I would like to sleep, but then I think that grandma needs to eat some nutritious food, and my younger brothers and sisters have to take something to school, and so I go. I do not know what my future life will be, but I am happy in my own way, because I see myself as useful to my family.”
Wangira is 11-years-old. “I am always very tired in the evening,” she says. “In fact, when I come back from school, I find the house in a mess and have to sweat to tidy it up. Mum is sick and has no strength to do the house chores, and my brothers and sisters are just too small, though they try to help. When at last everyone is in bed at night, I can breathe more easily. I kneel down on my mat and pray an ‘Our Father’ and know that God has been with me and given me the strength to do all I did. Then I curl up on the small mattress near my sister Joyce and fall asleep peacefully.”
Other Faces of Christ:
Jeff works as a foreman in the Vincentian furniture shop. He has a wife and three children. Before he came to work with the Vincentians, he would hope to work at construction sites. If he got to work he would receive for his day’s work 190 shillings or approximately $2.75 in dollars. ( A small one bedroom apartment in Nairobi is $100.) Jeff told Brother Jim that his family can make it on 800 shillings a week.
