(Patrick Egwu), From left: Sr. Stella Agbawa, Sr. Margaret Ogbuja and Sr. Bibiana Emenaha of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Box 111 Uromi Edo State, Nigeria. 20 talking about this. Passionate Sisters of St. Paul of the Cross. The woman threatened her that if she did not pay her back fully, she would be arrested. "We move from parish to parish, community to community and schools and visit community leaders and inform them about the dangers of trafficking," she said. Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate. They and other sisters from different congregations in Nigeria are fighting human trafficking through advocacy and creating awareness to dissuade young girls and women like Omoresewua from taking a dangerous route across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, where they can be trafficked into prostitution or slavery. Eighty percent of those women and girls are likely to become victims of sexual exploitation, IOM said. The book has been very well received everywhere it has been introduced! "We realized that a lot of the problems stem from the families because if the families are well managed and kept in one piece, it will invariably have effects on the society," said Nwaonuma, who headed COSUDOW from 1998 to 2008. Daughters of the Holy Spirit. Franciscan Sisters Convent (Badagry) c/o Sacred Heart catholic Church, Badagry. In March 2012, Sisters Home Visitors of Mary published a catechetical text book for Nigerian youth that introduces a new method of teaching doctrine based on Scripture and the actual life experiences of Nigerian children coupled with Catholic Catechism. FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (Nigeria Province) 1. "It requires money, and we have to pay the salary of 10 staff working here. 31. My brothers said I should not come back. Free Online Library: Nigerian sisters rebuild ministry: Augustinians faced a wrenching decision when violence forced them to flee. Women . Since 2015, Sr. Bibiana Emenaha of Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul has been the coordinator at the Committee for the Support of Dignity of Women (COSUDOW), where she leads the advocacy and campaigns in fighting human trafficking in Nigeria. The congregation continues to grow. The church has supported and still supports all awareness raising programs in the fight against trafficking. Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Emenaha and two other sisters from the congregation — Sr. Margaret Ogbuja and Sr. Stella Agbawa — provide professional counseling to the returnees and visit schools to create awareness on the dangers of trafficking. When she completed her training in 2016, the sisters provided some funds and started a hair salon for her. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus undertake, as a Congregation, awareness raising campaign within the Data were collected from 18 sister participants, who were purposefully recruited from two religious congregations across the different states of Nigeria. FEMALE RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS (SISTERS) with a link to website or email address: Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre (OSB), Cobh: Augustinian Sisters, Prayer House, Grancecon Tel. Chibok, Nigeria In a letter being mailed this week, each Church of the Brethren congregation is invited to pray for one of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok, Nigeria, by name. U.N. International Organization for Migration and other nonprofits fighting human trafficking like Slave No More, Solidarity With Women In Distress, Italian Union of Major Superiors and Caritas provide financial assistance to the returnees to start a business after the sisters have trained them. In 2001, Sr. Barbara Dakoske and Sr. Elizabeth Harris moved to Nigeria from Detroit at the invitation of John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, and began ministry of the Sisters, Home Visitors of Mary at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria parish in Abuja. Founded in 1999 by the Nigerian Conference of Women Religious, the committee collaborates with other anti-trafficking organizations like the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and U.N. migration organization. For her, traveling to Europe was a bitter experience. This book is a much needed and appreciated addition to the work of handing on the faith.”, Sr. Lydia works with student on knitting machine at Sr. Mary Schutz Womens’ Empowerment Center, Sr. Clare (center) and Sr. Lydia (right) while doing home visits, Sr. Vivian (center) and Sr. Jennifer (left) visiting Fulani neighbors near Gwagwalada, Day care center at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria parrish, In March 2012, Sisters Home Visitors of Mary published a catechetical text book for Nigerian youth that introduces a new method of teaching doctrine based on Scripture and the actual life experiences of Nigerian children coupled with Catholic Catechism. There are now 21 Nigerian Home Visitor Sisters and 15 Nigerian Home Visitor Associates. When faced with difficult cases, they refer people to a psychiatrist, who provides special services and recommends medication to stabilize them emotionally. Every month, she sent 500 to 1,000 euros back home to her family in Nigeria. Franciscan Sisters Convent (Alaba) c/o St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Alaba. Every six years, the Nigerian Conference of Women Religious holds elections in which a new congregation of the conference's 57 member communities is elected to run women's dignity committee. I decided to return when an NGO in Spain paid for my flight," she said. In 2007, the Episcopal Conference of Catholic Bishops donated a two-story building to COSUDOW to help resettle returnees. A 2017 report from the organization said of the more than 181,000 migrants who traveled by sea from Libya to Italy in 2016, more than 37,000 were Nigerian, with Nigerian women and unaccompanied children accounting for 11,009 and 3,040 travelers, respectively. Our vision -To Build,Inspire and achieve Growth in all successful endeavour . "As a congregation, our mission is service to the poor, and we know that poverty has a huge contribution toward the trafficking of young girls and women outside Nigeria," Ozuluoke said. "I didn't have a job and was sleeping in the streets," said Omoresewua, now 33. Then after that, we begin to listen to their stories and counsel them — both religious and psychological counseling," she said. A contribution of $10.00 US will provide this book to a young student in Nigeria. The work of the sisters is making an impact. Omoresewua made an agreement with the woman, who had promised her a better life in Europe: Omoresewua was to pay her 45,000 euros ($50,200) before she could gain her freedom. Catholic Missionary Union of England and Wales. Incestous brothers and sisters! In 2015, she quit and decided to return home. Other Languages. Contact Nigeria: Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, PHJC Nigeria, P.O.Box 152, Bwari Abuja FCT, Formation House, Garam, Tafa LGA, Niger St. Archbishop John Cardinal Onoiyekan wrote: “I find OUR CATHOLIC FAITH: CATECHISM OF BASIC BELIEFS a good material for catechesis in our county for any diocese or parish. Since 2017, the United Nations' International Organization for Migration (IOM) has flown home more than 10,000 Nigerians who could not get to Europe after being in countries like Libya, Mali and Niger. (Photo by Patricia Lefevere, National Catholic Reporter). Ozuluoke said the spiritual development of young people in the country is poor. HVM sisters created and direct a Women’s Empowerment Center where women learn how to run a life-enhancing microbusiness from home. List of congregations. In cases we can't handle, we refer them to specialists who charge us like 50,000 naira [$139], and we pay the bills. Benin City, Nigeria — Editor's note: Global Sisters Report is focusing on the efforts of sisters to end human trafficking as Talitha Kum, the international anti-trafficking network of religious, marks its 10th anniversary and launches its Nuns Healing Hearts campaign. When Omoresewua returned, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul trained her in hairdressing for a year and a half. The Nigerian sisters allow the women and girls to stay at their shelter for three to six months. "The first thing we do is to give them one week just to sleep and rest. IT is interesting to reason how dynamic Christianity has evolved in the last 100 years in Africa. This book will be a good source to inculturate the faith to our young people through bible-based catechesis accompanied with life stories which are the unique characteristics of the book. The book has been very well received everywhere it has been introduced! RVN The building was donated by the Episcopal Conference of Catholic Bishops of Italy in 2007. provide this book to a young student in Nigeria. Identical twin brothers are set to wed identical twin sisters in Kano, Nigeria and this has caused some bubbling excitement on the internet already. Since its founding in 2014, GSR has dedicated a section of its coverage to sisters who in various ways fight human trafficking. "Presently, we have about 23 cases in court waiting for prosecution against offenders," said Nwaonuma, who was part of the committee that worked on the draft of the law. This included 139,397 religious priests (and excluded 265,781 diocesan priests), 55,057 religious brothers, and 801,185 religious sisters. In 2017, the government passed an anti-trafficking law that punishes traffickers with prison terms and the sale of their properties, with the money going to the federal government. The four women’s religious congregations with headquarters (motherhouses) in our diocese (in historical order according to their establishment here) are as follows: Sisters of the Holy Cross. It may not be an exciting book, but the directory is much more than a simple list: it's a tool of empowerment that is enabling women religious to regulate and improve the organization of sisters across Nigeria. PHJC 35. P.o.Box 97, Satellite Town, Lagos. Website: www.divinemercysisters.net 3. In 2002, they were joined by three other women, beginning formation of the HVM religious congregation in Nigeria. ", Likewise, Nwaonuma said, "the economic reintegration for families and victims who returned requires money. But in Nigeria, incest between fathers and daughters is hardly reported because nobody wants such a story to be heard outside the family. "We provide some form of education because most of them cannot even write their names. A new Mission opened in November 2011, when one Sister of Notre Dame de Namur joined with 14 other religious congregations in ministering to the people of the new nation of South Sudan. Focus on Human Trafficking - Sisters from the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and other sisters from different congregations in Nigeria are fighting human trafficking through advocacy and creating awareness to dissuade young girls and women from taking a dangerous route across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, where they can be trafficked into prostitution or slavery. The pages are filled with the names of the more than 6,000 sisters who make up 52 recognized congregations in Nigeria, which doesn't exactly make for gripping reading. Deaconesses play an important role in the mercy work of the church, and there are 438 commissioned deaconesses in the Lutheran Church of Nigeria. Today, the LCMS supports theological education programs and partners with the LCN to carry out mission work in The Gambia and Jamaica, namely, through Alliance missionaries. CP 34. Telephone: +234-55-94351 Sisters fight against the patriarchy in Nigeria Loveth (on the left) and Gift are passionate girls' rights campaigners in Nigeria. Religious Sisters of Charity. CMSWR, Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters. "They hear a lot of things through the media and group interaction, and they get indoctrinated," she said. [Patrick Egwu is a freelance journalist based in Nigeria. The Catholic Church in Nigeria is in the forefront in combating the issue of human trafficking and illegal migration. OSBJL 32. At a center belonging to their congregation in Lagos in southwest Nigeria, they hold skills-acquisition sessions and training for returnee migrants in skills like catering, tailoring, fashion and designing. Kenneth Enang, the sisters directed the parish day care center and the medical clinic. Returnees who opt to go back to school are offered scholarships by congregations like the Daughters of Charity in Turin, Italy. Primarily, the chapter interrogates how Catholic religious sisters negotiate their culture identity within the context of living religious life. "With this, many of them fall prey to human trafficking. Read all of our coverage. We try to change their mindset that they can be successful here in Nigeria without traveling abroad.". The 2000 Annuario Pontificio lists about 1 million persons in religious institutes worldwide. Sr. Florence Nwaonuma of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus runs Fullness of Life Counseling and Development Initiative, an anti-trafficking organization in Benin City that rehabilitates returnees and provides empowerment programs for them to earn a living. Novitiate P. O. For every man she slept with for 30 minutes, Omoresewua earned 20 euros. 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