A woman’s place in society can never be underestimated.
I am proud to be a woman and a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, an international Congregation of Catholic Religious Sisters who were founded to uplift the dignity of women of Southern Nigeria, who had no opportunity to go to school; schooling was limited to the boy child, who was more valued in the society, while the girl child was relegated to the home chores, and given out into early marriages. Our Founder Bishop Joseph Ignatius Shanahan, CSSP believed that if the girl child is educated, then the whole nation is educated, as it is often said that “when you train a boy child, you train an individual, but when you train a girl child, you train a nation”.
Even though our primary ministry was education (of the girl child), we eventually extended to other ministries including health, Social work, among others, and in other countries of the world, since women are everywhere, always giving pride of place to the woman, so that they are helped to realize their full potentials in life.
Women are powerful instruments of spreading the Good News. It was the Biblical Mary Magdalen that was the very first person to announce the Good News of the Resurrection to the other Disciples. Our Blessed Mother is an icon of an ideal woman. She is the new Ark, because in her, and through her, God, brought forth his only begotten Son. With that act of childbearing and nurturing the baby Jesus, she clearly spelt out those indomitable qualities of procreation, and nurturance that a woman possesses.
When you talk about women you talk about God, because of the God-like qualities they possess. A woman is kind-hearted, loving, empathetic, patient, resilient, loyal, humble, brave and a lot more. Because of these qualities, they transform the world when opportunities are given to them. Women are great leaders. Even in their kitchen, they exhibit their leadership role, of planning and running the home, amidst their pressure at the work place and performing their marital responsibilities. A woman can be said to be a vessel with several outlets, as seen in their multi-faceted role.
MSHR formation insists on holistic formation with great emphasis not only on the psychological, emotional, physical aspects of the human person, but also the intellectual formation of the young woman, to give her the necessary education it takes to meet the demands of the changing society.
Sr. Nkechi Caroline Oraebosi, MSHR
