It All Started with a…HIC SUM!
From the desire for a project to the realization of a social enterprise
Sister Annie’s journey with spazio+spadoni, began in 2021 when the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Kisangani manifested, through a letter, their desire to undertake a HIC SUM project.
The Holy Family of Kisangani, is a Congolese Congregation founded in 1936 that works to serve the poor and children in the Archdiocese of Kisangani.
It was not until February 2022 that Sister Annie arrived in Italy, welcomed by the Confraternity of Mercy of Assisi and Governor Maurizio Biagioni, now the Corretor of the Misericordie of Umbria. The long timeline is due to a series of necessary steps between the host diocese, the local diocese and the Vatican State in order to ensure the regularity of the nun’s presence in Italy.
Formation time
Sister Annie fit well into the city and social context of Assisi, and during her time in Italy she devoted herself to learning the charism of Italian volunteerism, deepening her understanding of works of mercy, and studying more about social enterprise.
She returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of 2022, but in November of the same year, she returned to Italy to participate, along with twenty other sisters from other countries in Africa and Asia, in a month-long Francophone training on the works of mercy and the Economy of Communion, organized and promoted by spazio+spadoni in Loppiano in close collaboration with the Focolare Movement.
A few days before Christmas, Sister Annie, is back in Kisangani and from that moment a new phase of the HIC SUM project begins: that of starting a social enterprise and involving local volunteers to live the works of mercy together.
A commitment of the whole Congregation
The commitment of Sister Annie, the Superior General, Sister Nathalie, and the Sisters fosters the success of a local social enterprise, financed by spazio+spadoni as per the plan, which has declined into the construction of five fish ponds. Months pass, activities go on, and the sale of fish begins, allowing Sister Annie’s congregation to continue independently with the enterprise and earn some money for the local community as well.
In parallel, albeit initially with some difficulty, a small group of volunteers also takes shape to support Sister Annie in spreading awareness of the works of mercy.
A journey and a commitment that also finds strong support in the local Archbishop, Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa, who a few days ago gave his blessing for the realization of a Forum in Kisangani, the first in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will take place immediately after the summer months. The theme will be that of the reEvolution of Works of Mercy.