Wednesday, June 6, 2018

SR. ANNA-BRIGITTA (MWANZA, TANZANIA)

SR. ANNA-BRIGITTA
 (MWANZA, TANZANIA)

As a MSOLA, how have you been a “woman apostle” in the different places where you have been? 

I am Anna Brigitta; I am Dutch actually in the community of Mwanza. I worked as a teacher for 20 years in the interreligious secondary school for boys and girls (Hindu, Christians, Muslims). I also worked in social welfare for 8 years. I taught in a diocesan girls’ secondary school (only Catholic) for 14 years. 

Today, I am coordinating the teachers at the catechist centre giving to the catechists’ wives one year courses in home sciences: food, nutrition, tailoring and child care. I am also collaborating with the Missionaries of Africa (M. Afr) and teachers to give a professional training to girls who are orphans or from very poor families and have no future.  I am assisting in the needs of food and safe water for the lepers who are rejected.

I have been a woman apostle in various places by sharing my life and teaching girls and women, giving them knowledge and skills to make them confident in their own life and become self-reliant as women. Very often they are abandoned by their husband and left alone to care for their children.

As a cookery teacher, I adapted my recipes to the reality of the people by using the materiel, food and local things they have, to give variety to their diet and improve the food value and cooking methods. For example: variety in the maize, cassava and sweet potato dishes.

Was there any prophetic action you remember particularly? Could you explain it? 

The prophetic action that I remember is that I gave hope to young people affected by the reality of their parents with AIDS.  The parents died and the grandparents were not able to educate them.  I gave them a chance to study. Some have finished higher education; others have professional training and can care for themselves. I stood by them; I spoke out for them; I fought for justice for them. They were rejected by their surrounding communities. Some of them were intelligent at school, so the teachers cheated them and I claimed for justice.

I remember one boy whose mother died from AIDS. He was 4 years old, he was so affected he couldn’t speak for 4 months after his mother’s death. I took him to nursery school and gave him love. Today he is a student in secondary school.

When you think of your experience of living in international and intercultural communities, what comes to you? Some words, an image, joys, challenges… 

International and intercultural communities enrich us in many ways. Because we have different languages and cultures, that is a richness we share.

An image that I can give to our international and intercultural communities is a bouquet of flowers. Big and small, different colours, arranged in the right way it becomes beautiful. All together as a beautiful community that is our international and intercultural community life.

We have a lot of joy together; we learn from one another. (dance, food, words…) the experience and richness of each culture give a lot of joy, understanding and knowledge.

We are the younger MSOLA generation, still in the stage of temporary vows: what would you like to say to us?

I would say work hard to get your certificate in faith and be rooted in Christ.


Interviewed by Sr. Odile Tuo Songuimangnon 

Nairobi, Kenya

No comments:

Post a Comment