Sister Luminatha – Ruhunda (Rwanda)
PROJECT 36 of 72
MISSION
Location
Diocese
Kibungo
Country
Rwanda
Continent
Africa
GPS coordinates
-1.95372 30.43816
Time zone
UTC+2
CONGREGATION
Motherhouse
Huye
Diocese
Butare
Country
Rwanda
Continent
Africa
Congregation Feast Day
Feast of Pentecost
GPS coordinates
-2.60697 29.74359
Time zone
UTC+2
Contact persons
Sister Luminatha and Sister Esperance
Mother General
Sister Esperance Nyirasafari
TRAINING ORGANISATION
Location
Uzzano (PT)
Country
Italy
Continent
Europe
GPS coordinates
43.88189 10.70851
Time zone
UTC+1
Start date
06/06/2022
End date
December 2022
Tutor
Luca Pucci
REAL SPACE
Project manager
Sister Luminatha and Sister Esperance
Start date
16 January 2023
Type
Bakery and cattle farming
Upon returning to the community of Ruhunda, Rwanda, Sister Luminatha quickly established a very small social enterprise producing bread and other foods, with financial support from spazio + spadoni. It is a small shop selling bread, sweet baked goods and other products. In 2024, spazio + spadoni funded the purchase of a cow, which has since calved and made the enterprise more self-sufficient and productive. Sister Luminatha has also brought together around thirty volunteers, with whom she carries out apostolate and Works of Mercy each week among the village’s poor and needy.
Sister Luminatha belongs to the Sisters of the Dwelling of Charity, which also has a small community of two sisters in Italy, in the Diocese of Lucca. On arriving in Italy on 6 June 2022, she was taken to the Convento di San Cerbone, where training for sisters involved in HIC SUM projects was underway. Her fellow sister, Sister Agnes, was also taking part while completing her project at the Misericordia di Stiava. Sister Luminatha spent six months training at the Misericordia di Uzzano, hosted by the Congregazione Missionaria Sorelle di Santa Gemma. During her months in Italy, she also attended the training on the Works of Mercy organised by spazio + spadoni in Loppiano.
Learn more Rwanda | “Even two wheels can become a driving force for mercy” Sister Luminatha and the Volunteers of the Works of Mercy Monsignor Blaise Forissier
Timeline
2021
03.02 | Start of relationship
Congregazione Suore Dimora della Carità joins the HIC SUM project
2022
06.06 | Sister’s arrival
Sister Luminatha arrives in Italy and begins training at Misericordia di Uzzano
06-09.06 | Training
spazio + spadoni technical training at the Convento di San Cerbone (LU)
June | Training
Sister Luminatha improves her Italian with the help of a private teacher
July and August | Training
Practical cooking training at Congregazione Missionaria Sorelle di Santa Gemma
07-11.09 | Convention Fare Spazio al Coraggio
Sister Luminatha takes part in the Convention created and promoted by spazio + spadoni at the Convento di San Cerbone (LU)
09-10 | Training
First-aid course
October | Training
Agricultural training
21.11-16.12 | Training on the Works of Mercy
Sister Luminatha takes part in the training course on the Works of Mercy and the Economy of Communion in Loppiano (FI)
07.12 | Sister’s departure
The sister returns to Rwanda, to the community in Ruhunda
2023
16.01 | First funding disbursed
The funding is intended for the purchase of the oven and equipment for bread production
02.02 | Training on the Works of Mercy
Sister Luminatha trains students on the Works of Mercy's importance
02.03 | Works of Mercy with volunteers
Sister Luminatha and the first volunteers of the Works of Mercy
May | Start of sales
Sales of the bread produced begin
29.05 | Works of Mercy with volunteers
The activity's periodic continuation involves OPERA M volunteers serving the village of Ruhunda
26.07 | Works of Mercy with volunteers
Report on the Works of Mercy – OPERA M
20.09 | Second funding disbursed
The funding is intended to strengthen the Social Enterprise and spread the Works of Mercy – OPERA M
November | spazio + spadoni meets the sisters in Rwanda
During a missionary trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Selene travels to Rwanda, to Butare and Rwamagana, to meet and greet Sister Agnes, Sister Esperance and Sister Luminatha
2024
06.09 | Third funding disbursed
The funding is intended to strengthen the Social Enterprise's operations, purchase a cow and produce scarves for OPERA M volunteers' use
10.11 | Delivery of volunteers’ scarves
The OPERA M volunteers receive the scarf during the celebration
2025
23.11 | Volunteers’ feast and scarf presentation
The volunteers' group held its annual feast to mark the anniversary of its founding. On the occasion's programme, scarves were blessed and distributed to new volunteers. This special day's celebrations were further enriched by the presence of a delegation of volunteers from Butare, accompanied by Sister Esperance and Sister Agnes.
2026
28.02 | Works of Mercy with spazio + spadoni residents
Visit and distribution of food to patients at Rwamagana Hospital's wards
Project evaluations
All evaluations
- June 2022
The Social Enterprise project consists of establishing a small bakery. - July 2022
Monitoring of Sister Luminatha’s activities in Italy. - September 2022
Definition of the Social Enterprise. - October 2022
Monitoring. - December 2022
Sister Esperance, the Congregation’s contact person for its projects, is in Italy for the course on the Works of Mercy. Her presence provides an opportunity to discuss in person the project Sister Luminatha will develop in Rwanda. - February 2023
Monitoring and analysis of purchase invoices. - March 2023
Submission of the expenditure report. - May 2023
Update on the progress of the Social Enterprise. - June 2023
Monitoring with Sister Esperance. - July 2023
Request to start a small livestock farm as well. - January 2024
Online meeting with Sister Esperance for updates on the Social Enterprise. - March 2024
Update from Sister Luminatha on the Social Enterprise and the Works of Mercy – OPERA M.
Photos and videos
