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Wichita Sisters visit African School

Sisters Mary Ellen Loch and Karen Salsbery traveled a long way to spend a week with Sisters Rita Marie Thissen and Diane Leary. In June they crossed three continents to arrive in the sub-Saharan country of Malawi. Both were pleased to find their sisters in good health and active ministry.

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Sisters Rita Marie and Diane have been in Malawi since November 2005. They teach in primary and secondary schools for girls operated by a native congregation of women religious.

Sister Karen is vocation director for the Wichita congregation and Sister Mary Ellen is a member of the leadership team. Sister Mary Ellen is also director of associates, who have been active in raising funds for the African schools. She wanted to see first-hand how their donations benefited the schools and learn what additional needs there may be. Educating children, particularly girls, is one of the United Nations millennium goals, a priority for the associates.

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"An education for the first eight grades is guaranteed by the government," said Sister Karen "but students don't necessarily receive a high quality education."

Because of the many barriers to completing their education, students can be 16 years old and still be in primary school. Students must pay tuition to attend secondary school.

Sister Mary Ellen said the native sisters are very happy and proud of the copier, computer and printer that were purchased with donations from the associates and others. But conditions at the school were a shock.

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"I can't get over how these kids are living," said Sister Mary Ellen. "They are so crowded in the dorms that if one kid gets sick, I don't see how all them don't get sick."

There are no desks in the primary school. Students lack school supplies and there aren't enough books. There are no tables or chairs in the dining room so students sit on the floor to eat. Classrooms and dormitory rooms are unpainted and dark. Some dormitories have no beds so students sleep on the floor.

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Despite the poverty, Malawi is a very beautiful country, said Sister Mary Ellen. The school is in a very rural area with little villages dotting the landscape. In the villages, women sell produce, men sell crafts and paintings. The sisters saw men walking with bundles of sugar cane, tea, wood, even tires, all for sale. There are open markets where vendors sell their goods.

"It's kind of heartbreaking that you couldn't buy from everybody," Sister Mary Ellen said.

"We saw how intertwined their life is. Things aren't all separated out," said Sister Karen. "Here, we go to the grocery store to buy food. In Malawi, people grow vegetables in their garden; there are chickens in the yard. Their food is raised in their midst. People walk long distances to get millet to brew beer; then sell it to pay tuition."

Although students at the school appear to get enough to eat, nutrition is a concern for many in Malawi. Often, Sister Karen noticed kids digging in the dirt at the side of the road as they passed by. On one trip, she asked one of the local sisters what the children were doing. The sister replied that they were digging for mice to eat.

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With the advent of HIV/AIDS, added to the problems of malnutrition, malaria, tuberculosis and lack of health care, the average lifespan in Africa has dropped significantly in recent years. It's now about 36 to 38 years, said Sister Karen.

"I'm 38 now," she said. "Here, death is just as present as life all the time."

Sister Mary Ellen said she was disturbed by a visit to a childbirth "clinic." A local midwife built the mud-walled building herself. The rooms are very tiny and there is no furniture. Women in labor come to the clinic, put down a mat or cloth and wait in one room. When it is time to deliver, they go to a second room, which is outfitted only with large pans of water. After delivery, mothers and babies go to a third room to recover.

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Despite the privation and heartache in Malawi, Sister Karen and Sister Mary Ellen were impressed by the joy they encountered there.

"People stopped what they were doing whenever we stopped at a parish," said Sister Karen. "The people welcomed us so beautifully--such a gracious and warm outpouring. We found such an abundance of spirit, presence, and caring for people."

Sister Mary Ellen was surprised by the happiness of the people. She expected sadness and anger from people who lived in such difficult circumstances. But they were welcomed with singing and dancing, parties and great hospitality.

"The students are very happy kids," said Sister Mary Ellen. "They have nothing but are very happy. I think they're happier than the kids here who have everything.

"The poverty in Malawi makes one a little bit ashamed to be so wealthy. We may not think we're wealthy, but we are. People there have something we don't -- the ability to derive joy from the people and things around them. They have their own wealth, but physically they need so much. It was a very powerful experience for me. Those people will forever be with me."

Soon after their return, Sister Karen was struck by the relevance of a daily Mass reading from 2 Corinthians 8:14:

That at the present time your abundance may supply their want, and that their abundance may, in its turn, make up what you lack, thus establishing an equity...