Daughter of St. Paul Local Superior calls on Government to ensure Just Resource Distribution

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

As she leaves for Italy after Evangelising Ugandans and neighbouring countries

 

Sr. Theresia Swai

After seven years of evangelisation, the Daughters of St. Paul local Superior is leaving Uganda for Italy to take up new assignments in the mission. This quiet, loving and humble nun has been to all corners of Uganda and neighbouring countries taking the Church to the people. Pearl News Service’s Valerian Kkonde caught up with her for her experience in Uganda, evangelising using means of social communication.

PNS: Our readers would like to know who you are and where you come from.

SR: I am Sr. Theresia Swai and I come from Tanzania. In February 2011 I was appointed to work as a missionary in Uganda.  So, I have been in Uganda for seven years.

PNS: What have you been doing for all those seven years?

SR: Our congregation works with the means of social communication. I have been the animator of the community and I work with the sisters in all sectors. I do the coordination.

We travel a lot for the mission. Our main programme is that we run the Pauline Book and Media Centre along Kampala road in the city. So I have been coordinating between the apostolate and the spiritual welfare of the sisters in the community.  

PNS: In Uganda there are many religious congregations for women. How is it like in Tanzania?

SR: Also in Tanzania there are many religious men and women. At the moment since I have not worked there for a long time, I cannot tell you the exact number. In Uganda, in Kampala alone, there are 23 congregations. Just imagine how many there are countrywide! 

PNS: What attracted you to the Daughters of St. Paul?

SR: The first vocations promoter who came to Tanzania in 1998. She came and visited my school. I was in senior two. I was attracted by the mission they do in communication. She gave us magazines where a sister was carrying a video camera. I was very inspired to see a sister operating a camera.

The sister even told us that the sisters also work with television, radio, write and publish books and magazines. I was the more attracted because I like art and drawing. The sister told me that even in drawing, singing and writing one can spread the message of Christ. She told me that I too could contribute to the mission.

PNS: How has your evangelisation work in Uganda been like?

SR: In our mission we visit parishes, schools and colleges. I have not only worked in Uganda alone. I crossed the border and went to Rwanda and Congo. I have been received well and our mission has been accepted. People want the word of God. The difficulty I have found is the lack of people to send out. I have visited many parts of Uganda and if you have enough people for evangelisation then it is good. The apostolate needs evangelisers.

PNS: What are some of the things that you are proud of as the local superior?

SR: I would not say that I am proud of anything but I am happy that I have finished those six years and I am going away. This is a life of service. Being a superior is a service, not a privilege. You do service to your sisters and the people among whom you work.

Sometimes you really have to forget yourself because you want to reach out to them. You want to help them in all things and what to eat, their spiritual welfare, ensure that the mission is going on well, look out for what is lacking and what should be improved upon. And you have to involve them to bring their ideas.  I do not work alone. They also help me to live what I am called to live.

True I am a superior but somehow I am inferior for myself. I have to forget myself for I am called to a life of service.

PNS: Apart from having few people to send out what other challenges have you encountered?

SR: We have vocations but we have to do more for the vocations to grow. As we ate evangelisers using means of social communication, reading is a big problem. If people were reading a lot, we have enough material for the family, youth and children. It is true we are like a drop in the ocean. But if that drop is supported and other people help us, we can do a lot for the family.

We need the family. The family is the foundation of everything. If the family collapses, all the other sectors in life cannot do well. Life begins in the family and it is in the family where we get good vocations as our founder the Blessed James Alberione says. When the family is bringing up well the children, we will get good vocations. And if the children are brought up well, they will share with others what they have been taught.

PNS: To what extent are the digital innovations a challenge to your evangelisation mission?

SR: The digital innovations are a challenge now and for the future. Every time you wake up you find something new has come up. As we go ahead, people will no longer be visiting the bookshop. So we also have to venture into putting all our material in e-form. Before, it has been the radio but now it is the phone. People download material and go with it wherever they want.

We have started with the music on the flash so that people do not have to carry heavy material. The venture is really expensive but where the world is running is where we want to reach.

It is also scaring especially with the old ones. Old sisters do not want to venture any further. But with God’s help we shall get there. We have to think hard what we can do for our people with the new means of communication. Even our founder, Fr. James Alberione (Blessed), says that we have to use the fastest means available to reach out to the people. He talks about the signs of the times. We have to read the signs of the times to see what is needed and what can be done.

PNS: What are some of the things you admire about Uganda?

SR: I come from Tanzania where my people have a culture similar to that of the Baganda and other ethnic groups in Uganda. I felt at home and easily mingled with the people.  I found myself understanding them and I hope they also understood me.

Another thing is the language. As I travelled to different parts, I found difficulty in speaking their language. But working in the Central it was easy. It was nice learning Luganda. As for the eating culture, being with people, it was easy, I found no difficulty.

PNS: What does the future hold for the Daughters of St. Paul in Uganda?

SR: We need vocations. If we get vocations then the future is bright. In the African culture we believe in succession. In the clan if you have no children to take over then the future is bleak. In Uganda I pray for vocations. The vocations will grow as they see others joining us.  Then the mission will also grow so that we carry on the mission together.

PNS: Any special message for Ugandans and the Daughters of St. Paul?

SR: Uganda is a blessed country. The land is rich and it is only the resources that need to be shared well. The government and leaders have to organise things well.

For the Daughters of St. Paul, we have to continue with the mission. We need support from people of good will. People can support us financially, with prayers, with vocations and material support. That way we will reach our goal.

PNS: From here, what next?

SR:  I am going to Italy until next year around June, and then I will return to Kenya. From there I do not know where I will go. For us we believe in obedience. My superiors will decide for me where to go. I cannot decide for myself what to do and where to go; that would not be according to the vow of obedience which I made.

The vow of obedience is to be disposed to whatever the congregation is asking of you and that is what you do. We have many communities in East Africa and outside. At the moment we have 13 countries forming what we call a Province.  This includes countries like Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, South Sudan, Angola, Congo Brazzaville and Mozambique.