My vocation to Mercy is tied to a yearning that I began to feel while I was in school with the Sisters of Mercy in Makueni Girls’ secondary school. This yearning spoke to me for the first time while I listened to a Mercy Sister speak to us students on a vocation to religious life. I honestly wondered if this yearning was real! I was sure ‘nuns’ weren’t cut from my type of cloth! Anyhow, I chose to remain aloof, concentrate on my academics and may be if I failed my exams, I could then try it out among the nuns. I wasn’t sure if nuns were into high grades for entry into the cloisters.
Scholasticah Nganda rsm
What I do recall distinctly is that when I eventually made up my mind to join the Mercies, though I wasn’t so sure of my calling, the yearning remained. It was like the yearning was asking me to look harder at what it was saying. It felt like a wave challenging me to free myself from my misconceptions, activities, and the expectations of family and friends who would seek to control my life. This wave seemed to have an unrelenting message. It was a wave that echoed a presence of a job for me to do in this world, a job that could only be done by me. I wondered what would happen if I chose to ignore the yearning. Would the tasks meant for me be completed if I became a nun? What was this calling asking of me? Was it a call to build, organise, heal or protect? I hadn’t the faintest clue what else apart from teaching and nursing the Sisters of Mercy did. If I joined them, would I be driven to invent, discover, teach, nurse, entertain or explore? They always said in those vocation talks that, “you are urged to go where you are needed”.
And so it has been for me since the day of my First Vows. It has been a journey of a yearning that points me in my own very special direction. Over the years, I have developed an awareness of my vocation to Mercy and this has helped me to not only find my purpose in life, but to also begin to understand where I belong. The fish is now in the water. The eagle is in the sky. The deer has arrived in the forest.
I do not wish to give you the impression that my call to Mercy is a perfect one. Far from it! My Mercy vocation has its wonderful times and perfect moments, but it also has its anguish. However, I am convinced that if I wait for a path without pain, I will wait forever. As I am now a Kenyan religious Sister of Mercy, vowed since 1989 so the yearning was real!
Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School, Nairobi County
I started my teaching career in Makueni Girls’ Secondary School in 1987 and taught with the Mercy Sisters in that School. From 1989 to 1991 I worked in Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School, Nairobi County where I taught Geography and Religion and was in charge of the Young Christian Students’ Movement. I was transferred to St. Josephs’ Girls’ Secondary School, Makueni County where not only did I teach Geography and Religion, but was also Deputy Principal (1982 – mid 1994). I took a career break and did a Formators’ course (July 1994 – July 1995) that saw me engaged in Vocation Promotion work and accompanying young women discerning to join Mercy. I enjoyed vocation promotion ministry and journeying with young women and visiting their families was something I found enriching. Happy as I was in this ministry, fate struck early one morning and my Provincial Leader asked me to prepare to go back to the education ministry once more. This time, it was not only to teach Geography and Religion but also be the Principal of Ngarariga Girls’ Secondary School, Kiambu County. The Sisters of Mercy had been in this School since early 1960s, a school with a very rich Mercy tradition. I was replacing my Provincial who had been the Principal and had worked in the School for many years. This was the time when the Sisters of Mercy in Kenya were still in their Irish Diocesan units. Ngarariga Girls’ Secondary School was founded by the then, Sisters of Mercy – Sligo.
As much as I enjoyed and loved my teaching, the idea of heading a School was not among the things I thought I needed as a young Mercy Sister. Being tied to an office, solving problems from teachers, students and sometimes from parents scared me stiff! One thing I knew for certain was that the request from my Provincial was urgent as there was no other Sister qualified to head the school. That meant, simply: ‘brace yourself and get going’. I still recall how scary it felt to move to Ngarariga and leave with Sisters I had never met before. Kenya had just become a Vice-Province (1995) of South Central Province and the membership of the Vice-Province hardly knew each other by name! Anyhow, there was no point of mounting my lamentations, over a decision already made.
I still recall my first day as the Principal in the School. The girls looked at with amazement and I was lost for not knowing why. I later learned they did not believe a small ‘girl’ like them could be their Principal, replacing a dynamic Irish Sister of Mercy. I could not have blamed them for indeed, I looked small and my short hair-do did not help either. It was among these girls that my waking up days from September 1995 – August 1998 were spent. Ministry among these girls and the staff was simply amazing! I enjoyed working in this School. The girls were simply great kids ready to learn. They all came from humble backgrounds and they knew very well that education was key to any bright future they might have dreamt of. So, teaching them and sharing with them good values in life was easy. The students here were as eager to learn as the teachers were to teach. I learned so much from both the girls and the staff. Values such as generosity, respect, hard-work, honesty, self-discipline and justice were esteemed in this school. No wonder I found heading Ngarariga Girls’ Secondary School, a joy to behold!
As a School Principal, I tried to ensure that the physical surrounding of Ngarariga Girls’ Secondary School were attractive, contemporary and conducive to learning with an ongoing program of building and refurbishment. Most importantly, I aimed at overseeing the education of a generation of young women who were given every encouragement to become compassionate, dynamic, forth-right and empowered to lead in the modern world. As a principal, I enjoyed inspiring my students with a passion for justice and compassion. And while I trusted my staff to manage the practical aspects, I was very much aware of the importance of my presence as the Principal in the school.
I worked with a dynamic group of teachers who more often than not welcomed my impatience with that which I believed to be unjust, inappropriate or what could be done in a better way. The staff knew for instance, that I would always encourage them to be professionally restless, and wished them to avail of learning opportunities whenever possible. I valued having the parents, teachers and students leave my presence sure of my position on issues. This helped build amicable work relationships in the school community.
As Principal in a Mercy school, I knew it was my very important role to ensure that the Mercy charism was well understood in the school and encouragement was given to living it out. It was encouraging to hear the staff and students speak of their awareness of, appreciation of, and immersion in the Mercy story and values. The feast of Our Lady of Mercy, 24th September, was an important day on the school calendar. A celebratory mood engulfed the entire school. This was one day in the year that the school Board of Management knew a big budget was set aside for. On this day, ‘Mercy Day Special’ as the girls liked to call the day, the Eucharist for the entire school community was celebrated at Noon (12.00hrs.). Holy Mass marked the high point of ‘Mercy Day’. This was a real communion, a convergence of culture and religion, with drumming and dancing charging all in the church to ask for more. The School Chaplain was once heard saying, ‘The girls are on their element during Mass Day celebration. The school should have more of these days!’
Huruma Girls High School
My happy years in Ngarariga Girls’ Secondary School were followed by five years of teaching in Huruma Girls High School, Nairobi County, (1998 – 2003). Life in Huruma Girls High School was less hectic than in Ngarariga Girls’ School. I had shed off all the responsibilities of a School Principal as I had made the choice to step down from being a Principal to being an ordinary classroom teacher. So I went back to ‘my boat’ and embraced my teaching of Geography and Religion as I also pursed postgraduate studies in Psychology. I was also the teacher in charge of Catholic ethos in the School that had a rich Mercy Tradition. Huruma Girls’ Secondary School was the First Mercy Secondary School in Kenya having been founded by the Sisters of Mercy (Dublin) back in early 60s.
I left Huruma Girls High School end of 2003 and got a teaching job in Kenyatta University, Nairobi in 2004 and remained in the University till July 2012 when I was elected a member of the Congregational Leadership Team. While in Kenyatta University, I taught Psychology and did clinical work in the University’s Wellness Center. This is the University’s Counselling Centre for Staff and their families as well as for the students. The huge needs in the Counselling Centre saw me abandon the teaching of Psychology to the full ‘practice ‘of Psychology! My professional training as a Counselling Psychologist came handy in a University whose student population of over 75,000 had a huge demand for professionals who would support students in negotiating academic and life challenges.
Working in my CLT Office
I have been a member of the Congregational Leadership Team in Dublin, Ireland since 2012 and will return back to Kenya in 2018 when my term as a team member will be over and I look forward to the next chapter in my story.
Scholasticah Nganda rsm
Kenyan Province
