Promoting social justice in Africa through the education and training of catholic sisters

Abstract

Africa is a vast continent, containing culturally distinct countries with unique histories and needs. Researchers and supporting agencies often lump African countries together, addressing them as one group. Empowering Africans to take up leadership roles in their own localities, regions, and countries is one strategy to combat a homogenous view of Africa and create sustainable change within the continent. Catholic women religious, or sisters, in Africa are positioned to act as agents of social justice in their communities. Through their work, Catholic women religious in Africa possess integral knowledge of the contexts in their communities and develop trusted relationships with the people. These women work tirelessly to meet the needs of their communities, serving their people through education, health, social work, and other ministries. However, sisters have limited access to postsecondary education and leadership training, which is necessary to effectively create systemic change in their communities. In the late 1990s, a collaborative organization was formed by Catholic women religious and Catholic higher education institutions in the USA to fill this educational gap and to support Catholic sisters in Africa by providing education, skills, and training to assist them in fulfilling their roles as leaders in their communities. The collaborative organization grew from solidarity and global sisterhood among Catholic sisters in the USA and in Africa. Offering four unique programs, the organization utilizes a grassroots approach to provide training and education to sisters, as they nurture connections with people at all levels of society and are well-positioned to cultivate social change. The collaborative organization also directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those related to education and gender equity.With the organization’s support, the sisters realize their full potential as catalysts for positive change in Africa and play an important, although often unacknowledged, role in the achievement of the SDGs. In this chapter, the role of the collaborative organization in promoting social justice through education, training, and the SDGs will be discussed, highlighting the work of Catholic sisters at the local, regional, and sometimes national levels.