Welcome Sister Mary Karen Somerville, SND, East Africa

March 27, 2017

A dream come true was a gift that Sister Mary Karen had anticipated for quite some time. Reflecting on her time for renewal, Sister had thought of coming to Africa and offering herself in any way that she could, to be of service to the sisters in their schools, with their staffs, etc. What a joy when that dream became a reality.

Sister Mary Karen arrived on 31^st January and was met by Sister Mary Roshini at the airport and brought to our General Delegation Centre in Kenya. After a few days of settling in and overcoming the jetlag, Sister visited our Notre Dame School and gave a presentation to our parents.

Several days later, she began the wonderful adventure of being with and teaching the children in Kenya and Tanzania. She was able to visit our Aloysia Home where we have 22 girls who are orphaned or are living in difficult environments. Sister Mary Karen teaches in an inner city school in Cleveland, Ohio which is composed of African American Children and her school had sponsored three children from the Aloysia Home this year. Going to Simanjiro gave her another picture of our Maasai children and the people. Teaching at our Njiro Schools, visiting our Zinduka Women’s Centre and the tailoring school, and especially teaching music to the novices, pre-postulants, and candidates was an added gift.

We are all grateful for Sister’s time with us and trust that her renewal experience was more than she hoped for. Although Sister’s plans took form before our “Sisters without Borders” and the “Mission Immersion Experience” opportunities were finalized, we hope that more sisters in our congregation can offer themselves for these wonderful and enriching programs in our worldwide congregation. We surely will welcome you to East Africa.