Sister Ângela Maria Pereira Cunha
Sister Ângela Maria Pereira Cunha, in mission at the Pointe-Noire Community, in Congo, tells us about the Women’ Training Centre for which she is responsible.
The Women’s Formation Center of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Congo, is a center that welcomes young girls from different neighborhoods of Pointe Noire. Most of them have not been in school or very little. Some are orphaned by fathers or mothers, some have fragile health and others carry mental disabilities.
The Centre aims to collaborate in the education of women and families. For this, we welcome, listen and help the girl or young woman to value her role as a hostess in her home, to be more independent and to be able to take charge of herself. The training at the Centre extends over two years, with courses in Sewing, Hand Embroidery, Hairdressing, Pastry and Human Training. On the other hand, our mission with these young women is above all to show them that God has a plan of love for each of his children. To make them feel that at the Formation Centre they have a new family made up of their colleagues and Sisters. A family in which they can feel comfortable sharing their worries and joys. Where possible, we work closely with parents, especially when they have difficulty following their daughters. We help young people to have confidence in themselves and to realize that despite academic failure, they are able to achieve many good things, if they have a good will. Yes, it’s all about trust and willingness. We also receive mothers who come to train to improve their living conditions.
Hairdressing session at the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit’s Woman Training Centre, in Pointe-Noire.
The joy that lives in me is to see that some of them manage to get by after their training. I am happy to see that our Charism continues to be relevant, because, working with these young women from different religious beliefs, I discover and learn a lot from them. We have many testimonies from these young women who were trained in our Centre.
Embroidery session at the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit’s Woman Training Centre, in Pointe-Noire.
I would like to give you the testimony of two of them. Aïcha is a 22 years old woman, very respectful, married and mother of two children. During her formative years at our Center, she was often absent for various reasons, illness of a child, responsibilities of the home, or other. When she was returning to the Center after a time of absence, her work bag was always full of clothes to sew, for her, for her children and for her husband. She cut these clothes at home, when she was away from the Centre. She also came back with tablecloths that she had embroidered, and sometimes, she sent me pictures of different dishes that she made at home. At the end of her formation, the Centre offered her a sewing machine. Since then, she continues to do her work at home and this allows her to support herself and her family. Juptia, thanks to the training obtained in our Center, bakes cakes, makes clothes that she sells at the market. She also has a lot of orders in embroidery. With all this, she manages to save money for her own account. May the Holy Spirit continue to sustain us for the glory of God and the success of these dear young people that we welcome every year.
Sister Ângela Maria Pereira Cunha