Nigeria – Africa | Project #2 of 72

Upon her return, Sister Beatrice took action to bring the social enterprise to life, which in this case involved starting and developing agricultural activities by putting a large unused field belonging to the Congregation to productive use. The enterprise got off to a good start, with positive results in production and sales. Due to bad weather, some sowing errors and a disease that affected all the tomato plants, the second harvest did not go as hoped. While continuing the agricultural activity already under way, Sister Beatrice proposed creating another very small enterprise in 2024 to produce sacred vestments and thereby consolidate the profits. This idea became a reality in December 2025.

Sister Beatrice, a member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, began the HIC SUM project training on 18 September 2020 at the Misericordia of Villa Adriana. She is currently in Ibiono Ibom, one of the thirty-one local government areas of Akwa Ibon State in southern Nigeria, which has more than 385,000 inhabitants. There, together with some local volunteers, she promotes the Works of Mercy. The community where Sister Beatrice lives consists of 14 sisters and focuses particularly on providing healthcare services in its hospital facility. They do not have drinking water, but use a borehole that provides water throughout the day. The electricity supply is not constant but highly unstable, as is the telephone network, causing serious communication problems. More than 70 million people in Nigeria currently live in extreme poverty. Poverty in Nigeria is especially evident in the villages; 53% of Nigerians currently living below the poverty line reside in rural areas.

Sister Beatrice’s Congregation was founded in Nigeria in 1931 by Mother Mary Charles Walker. Its charism is closely linked to the words spoken by the Virgin Mary: “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). In Mary, the sisters find a model of profound faith, humility and absolute fidelity to Divine Providence, and from her they draw the spirit of the Congregation: an “all-embracing charity” expressed in their motto, “Love and Service”.

Find out more

• Sister Beatrice, serving the Works of Mercy in Nigeria
• Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus
• The life story of Mother Mary Charles Magdalen Walker