Today marks the beginning of National Catholic Sisters Week (NCSW), a week dedicated to honoring women religious for being on the frontlines of social change. At the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, we firmly believe in Catholic sisters’ role in advancing human development locally and globally, embodied in our Catholic Sisters Strategic Initiative.
All too often, the general public does not see the multitude of social issues Catholic sisters touch on a daily basis. This NCSW, we celebrate the invaluable efforts of Catholic sisters in advancing their communities. For example, did you know that Catholic sisters work to create small business partnerships in Zambia to create a system of economic empowerment?
Video courtesy of University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture.
In Kenya, Catholic sisters have played a significant role in changing the culture around female genital mutilation (FGM) by helping girls who are running away from FGM and underage marriage:
Video courtesy of University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture.
In the area of education, Catholic schools educate more than 19 million children across Africa and many of these schools are run by women religious. Through leadership training, Catholic sisters receive the necessary certificates to educate the next generation as effectively as possible:
Video courtesy of University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture.
It is through these local efforts that Catholic sisters are advancing global development, and specifically the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The below video illustrates the unique role sisters play in promoting sustainable and holistic development, with a focus on women religious in Africa:
Video courtesy of University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture.
Like our founder, Conrad N. Hilton, we recognize sisters as resourceful, efficient and powerful agents of social change and we are proud to support them in their efforts to advance global human development.