The Teresina Sisters, founded in 1935 by an Italian missionary in Tosamaganga, Iringa, have long embodied their charism through four key pillars: education, catechism, healthcare, and social work. Their mission now extends from rural Tanzania to Kenya, Mozambique, Haiti, and even Papua New Guinea. Yet, across these vast regions and through their various projects, the Sisters have encountered ongoing challenges in project management and sustainability.
However, this started to change over the past year, thanks to a new wave of transformation sparked by the Sisters Blended Value Project (SBVP), an initiative aimed at equipping sisters with leadership, finance, and enterprise skills among others. SBVP is being implemented in five countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi) by Strathmore University Business School in collaboration with the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) with the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
“After the initial group of sisters attended the program, they returned energized and shared what they had learned,” says Mother Superior, Sr. Teresina Gervasia Kindole. “I made sure more went. The impact was immediate, more accountability, better management, and a renewed sense of purpose.”
One of the most compelling examples of this transformation is Sr. Sara Luhumba, headmistress at St. Paul Secondary School, who attended the SBVP Scale Program in 2024. Soft-spoken yet strategic, Sr. Sara leads a school that has grown remarkably, not just in numbers but also in vision and financial resilience. “Before the training, we were surviving,” she explains. “We depended only on school fees and what we could make from farming and livestock. If pigs didn’t sell, we were stuck.”
After the training, she introduced a savings strategy, even from the smallest income streams. Money earned from selling just a few pigs at a time was set aside for construction materials. Slowly, a girls’ dormitory,once just a dream, began to rise, brick by brick. “The training taught me that even small amounts count,” she says. “It was a new way of thinking of seeing every resource as useful, even animal waste.”
Today, St. Paul Secondary School tells a story of growth and transformation. Annual revenue has tripled, reaching 400 million Tanzanian shillings (approx. USD 150,000) per term, compared to the same amount per year previously. Student enrollment has increased from 200 to 300. Staff now includes 19 teachers, two matrons, and three cooks. “We operate at a surplus,” says Sr. Sara. “And that surplus supports our congregation’s broader mission.”
The school has also embraced digital marketing. A WhatsApp group, once used for casual updates, is now an active platform to promote school programs and services,a skill acquired through an SBVP webinar. “We never thought social media would be part of our work,” Sr. Sara admits with a smile. “But now we use it to reach more people. It works.”
The more profound impact of SBVP, however, lies in a significant shift in mindset. According to Sr. Teresina, the Sisters now approach their responsibilities more intentionally. “They take initiative and follow through,” she says. “There’s a sense of ownership.” Through its blend of management, financial, and digital training, SBVP promotes a new theology of sustainability where spiritual mission and enterprise are aligned. Coaching, peer learning, and regional conferences have empowered Catholic sisters to share best practices, from budgeting to composting to branding.
For Sr. Sara, the one-on-one coaching was particularly impactful. She credits Dr. Nancy Njiraini, her mentor and SBVP’s lead on research, for broadening her vision. “She helped me see the school not just as a mission, but as a model,” she says.
As the sun sets over the Iringa hills, St. Paul Secondary School is no longer just a faith-based institution but a beacon of sustainable development. Dormitories rise, gardens bloom, and futures are built not merely on charity alone but on strategy, stewardship, and the unwavering spirit of the sisters empowered through SBVP.
Article by Alex Okoth
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Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation foresees a world in which improving the human condition is a shared and sustainable goal. “Love one another, for that is the whole law,” Conrad Hilton wrote in his will. The peoples of the world “deserve to be loved and encouraged—never to be abandoned to wander alone in poverty and darkness.” That is our resolve.
