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For four decades, Holy Rosary Sisters have assisted in war-torn areas of need in "at-risk" situations. They were present before the refugee crises; they adapted their responses to the situation and continued to address the needs of displaced persons in and from: Biafra/Nigeria, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia, and Mozambique.
For more than two decades, Holy Rosary Sister Terry Shields has provided medical and other services to refugees who fled crises in Biafra, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Sudan, and Rwanda. Sister Therese Flynn also works to heal the physical and emotional wounds from civil wars in Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Over the years, other Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary have brought their expertise and love of the people to the soul-searing environs of refugee camps throughout Africa.
Today… When our ministry to refugees began in Guinea nearly 10 years ago, it was uncertain how we would be of service to the refugee population. Refugees had been in Guinea for four or five years by the time we arrived, so we came into a situation that was removed from the original emergency period. Repatriation of the refugees was not even a possibility around this time. We learned over the years that repatriation of refugees does not happen quickly and that other crises force refugees to either flee from their home countries or host country many times.
The literacy program is already established in the camps for internally displaced people around Monrovia. With the return of the present refugees we will try to establish the literacy program in the interior. One of the extraordinary consequences of the war is an interest in education, particularly for women. They have understood the degree of deprivation to which they have been subjected to in the culture and tradition. Therefore, they are anxious to avail themselves of the opportunity to learn to read and write. In the program we constantly engage in a process of analysis so that the participants are increasingly aware of their rights. They also look at the root causes of the war. The skills (such as tailoring and crocheting) continue to provide the women a forum of learning and relaxation. The counseling provides a context for sharing and reflection on the horrors and trauma of the war. We have special groups for women who have been gang raped; we try to allow a sacred space where they can tell their stories in safety and are listened to with respect. We have engaged an artist to facilitate self-expression through color and design. Our small loans program allows for business education and a measure of independence in a situation where money is hardly available and flexibility in one's life is greatly restricted. The program centers around literacy and the concept of empowerment, empowerment of the very poor and the most oppressed.
Currently, the program works with approximately 2,000 people in Sierra Leone, 2,000 in Guinea, and 500 in Liberia. In Sierra Leone we are established in the two areas most devastated by the war: the diamond-rich territory of Kono and the area of Kailahun. People there are trying to put up two rooms for shelter and are desperately working to put their lives back together. It will be similar in Liberia once the refugees begin to be repatriated. People are not only poor, but are torn apart by the horror of war and all its consequences. It shatters people’s identities and their belief in themselves. It makes rebuilding their world very difficult; they have to begin from the very beginning. It further renders them vigilant and apprehensive of any such repetition. They live with their bags packed, in case it might happen again.
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