Benebikira Sisters

Under the leadership of the first Rwandan mother general, Sister Theresa Kamugisha, Msgr. Hirth’s vision of establishing a truly Rwandan order of sisters was realized.[3] She exhorted them to be strong Rwandan women—responsible, able to manage, and independent. Sr. Therese proposed that Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, be their model and built a small African style chapel dedicated to her at the Mother House in Save, a small rural village where the first Catholic Church in Rwanda was built. It is here where her body has been laid to rest.

Sr. Theresa, who had very little schooling herself, valued the importance of education and traveled to Europe to secure secondary and university scholarships from European religious congregations for her sisters. She presided over the congregation for twelve years during the time of political un-rest which surrounded Rwanda’s independence.[4] While Rwanda became increasingly separated by ethnic politics; the Benebikira continued to live as a united community without ethnic discrimination among its members.

Beginning in 1980, the Benebikira Secondary School for Girls in Kibeho was the site of a series of Marian apparitions to three of its students. The message was a call for a change of heart. Kibeho has become a well known shrine in Africa, attracting many pilgrims who come not for physical cures but a change of heart. The sisters continue to administer the school and have built a small hospitality house to welcome pilgrims.

During the 1994 Rwandan Genocide of the Tutsi, 18 sisters were killed and ten convents destroyed. Other sisters died as a consequence of the genocide.[5] In the immediate aftermath of the genocide, over 500 orphans were living in their community houses. In concert with the new government policy they worked to find families for them and the hundreds of others who found their way to temporary orphanages created at Nyanza, Ruhengeri and Rulindo. For the 350 where this was not possible, they created a highly successful network of family homes where the children became family to one another with the oldest serving as head. A secondary school, Immaculate Conception, was opened in Save to offer education for the orphans under the care and guardianship of the Congregation. In recognition of their stance against the genocide ideology, the Rwandan government bestowed Hero awards on two sisters YANKURIJE M Pierre Claver and Sister RAMUTSA Marie Jean de la Croix. The American-based Peace Abbey awarded the Benebikira their Courage of Conscience Award in 2010.[6]

The Benebikira Sisters administer a network of 14 secondary boarding schools, twelve of them in Rwanda. Their schools consistently rank in the top 15% and they are recognized for their emphasis on promoting the traditional Rwandan understanding of what it means to be a well-educated person. The Benebikira maintain an administrative team of at least three sisters in each of their schools: a principal, a business manager and a sister who oversees the life and education of the students outside of their classroom time. This team is responsible for carrying out the Benebikira model of education which is based on creating a learning community that embraces cooperation, teamwork, responsibility, and leadership development. Teachers and other staff are usually lay people. Schools follow the national curriculum. Three are private, eleven are government aided; eight schools are all girls.

Secondary Boarding Schools

• Byimana Gr. Scolaire Notre Dame de Lourdes
• Kayonza FAWE School for Girls
• Kibeho Gr. Scolaire Mère du Verbe
• Muramba Gr. Scolaire Immaculée Conception
• Nyamata Maranyundo Girls School
• Nyanza Gr. Scolaire Mater Dei (Coed)
• Rulindo Gr. Scolaire de la Visitation
• Rwamagana Collège Notre Dame de la Paix
• Save Collège Immaculée Conception (Coed)
• Save Gr. Scolaire Ste Bernadette (Coed)
• Zaza Gr. Scolaire St. Kizio
• Congo, Goma le Lycée Annuarité
• Burundi, Ecole de Gestion de Mukoni
• Burundi Lycee de Rugari

Primary Schools

• Kanyanza
• Kigali, Our Lady of Angels
• Nyamasheke
• Nyanza, St Joseph’s
• Burundi, Muramvya
• Burundi, Rugari
• Vocational Schools
• Ngarama
• Kabgayi

The Benebikira administer six district health centers – Mbuga, Cyanika, Kabuga, Save, and Muyunzwe in Rwanda and Gitaramuka in Burundi. All but Kabuga, which is privately owned by the Sisters, are government owned and funded. Sisters also hold staff positions in hospitals in Rwanda, Congo, Burundi and Uganda

Care of Families and Children

Each community takes it upon themselves to assist those in need who often find their way to their doors. As much as possible the poor who come to them are offered some small work and assistance with their family problems. In their schools and clinics there is particular attention to the poor making sure that they are treated with respect and dignity.

Hostels

In 2008 the Benebikira opened a 350-room dormitory in Butare for women students at the National University of Rwanda, to provide safe, affordable housing so that more women could attend the University. In Kigali there is an 80-room hostel for young single women who have come from the rural areas to work or study.

Hospitality Houses

There are two houses in Huye: Mary of the Word and Our Lady of the Road. They are frequently used for conferences and retreats. The Hospitality House at Kibeho, Queen of Peace, provides accommodations for pilgrims to the Mother of the Word Shrine.[9] In Burundi there is Safari Lodge. Each house has a chapel, conference space, and a restaurant.