In Sahr, Sister Reine is daily engaged in the spiritual accompaniment of the students of the College San Carlo Lwuanga.
On the occasion of World Day of the Sick, she wanted to share her delicate and important pastoral presence among young students.
“I am Sister Onwunmelu Chikamnayo Reine, teacher and mentor at St. Charles Lwanga College, a Catholic secondary school for general education, founded by the Jesuit Fathers in 1960.
The theme of World Day 2025 was “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), and it makes us strong in trial.
As a teacher and mentor, I make the Pope’s message my own in the hope that the students I accompany spiritually will find meaning in their sufferings, their lives and their experiences.
By listening to them, I create a safe and welcoming space where the person can express their thoughts, emotions and concerns without being judged.
The purpose of all this is to pay particular attention to the overall balance of our students. I offer them advice on how to overcome personal challenges, bereavement, major life changes or crises of faith.
We have different types of illnesses: physical, spiritual and psychological. So I try to give spiritual and psychological relief to the students, while the school nurse, Mrs. Alice, takes care of them physically. She receives about ten sick students a day and the most common illnesses are malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhea, etc. After providing them with the appropriate first aid, she lets them rest.
By working for the spiritual, psychological and physical relief of our students, we have, as the Pope says: “the experience of the closeness and compassion of God who, in Jesus, shared our suffering”.
Sister Onwunmelu Chikamnayo Reine
