About Us
What We're All About
The aim of this project is to help facilitate discussions that will help African women religious revitalize their way of life through discussions on the vows, formation, community life, and intercultural ministry.
Who We Are
Watawa wa Taa can be loosely translated as ‘Consecrated Women of Light’ in Kiswahili. The name was chosen as an ode to the remarkable presence and works of women religious in Africa.
Whether as members of international, missionary or local congregations, holding pontifical or diocesan status; African Catholic Sisters can be found at the forefront of the society, working for sustained and systemic change in the areas of healthcare, education, social work, pastoral care, agriculture etc.
Alignment with Catholic Sisters Initiative Strategy:
Funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation will support Catholic Sisters Initiative Portfolio Three:
Knowledge Generation and Management – by engaging sisters from around the continent a discussion that is very pertinent to the future of religious life in Africa.
As the numbers of African women religious grow and contribute to the global church through reverse missionary activity, their footprint is widening and in
the forthcoming years will influence people’s understanding and engagement with the church greatly. It is then imperative that we revitalize religious life on the African continent by critically engaging with our history and current practices considering the needs of our congregation, church, and society.
The fruits of the continent wide conversations published in the manual, will be benefit not only the African Church but the global church in days to come. By creating a research-based manual for African Female Religious Life, we shall be providing a resource for congregations as they continue to form and re-found themselves in line with their specific charisms but also the needs of the 21 st century.
The webinars and workshops we envision will provide forums to further disseminate and personalize the knowledge in the manual for
individual contexts, congregations, and regions.
Our Advocacy Activities
Network Building
Due to the vastness of the African continent, the high number of African sisters, poor infrastructure, and the high cost of technology, the networking and collaboration between African sisters ..
Advocacy
Religious sisters could use the information in the manual to advocate internally in religious institutions in areas such as formation, leadership discernment, ministerial initiatives and emphasis, congregational renewal amongst others.
Cultivating Champions
The success of our project is dependent on dissemination of our findings, but also in the implementation by choosing individually and collectively to embrace a revitalised way of life.