CISA REPORT: GULU, November 26, 2013 -Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, a Ugandan educator who empowers women and girls who survived brutality at the hands of rebels, will be recognized with an honorary doctorate from DePaul University for her dedication to social justice.
As director of St Monica’s Girls’ Tailoring Center, Sister Nyirumbe led an overhaul of the school’s curriculum to respond to the increasing needs of women, girls and their children who have survived kidnapping, rape and mass displacement during decades of civil war in Uganda. She will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree during a December 07 ceremony at Tangaza College in Nairobi, Kenya.
“Sister Nyirumbe is helping women and girls weave a new beginning through education. Her vision and advocacy for this vulnerable population resonate deeply with the legacy of St Vincent de Paul, who worked on behalf of the poor and marginalized,” said the Rev Dennis H Holtschneider, C.M., DePaul’s president.
The ceremony is part of commencement activities for an undergraduate degree program offered by DePaul’s School for New Learning in partnership with Tangaza College. Nineteen students will graduate with degrees in leadership and management from the program, which was established in 2006 with a grant from the Conrad H. Hilton Foundation.
Students in the program include laypeople and religious men and women who are chosen by their communities because of their leadership potential.
Founded in 1898 in Chicago, Ill., DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the United States. Tangaza College is also a Catholic institution and prepares graduates for ministerial and social work.
Under Sister Nyirumbe’s leadership, St Monica’s has adapted to the practical and trauma-induced needs of a population suffering in a civil war. Women and girls at St Monica’s receive psychological support and literacy training, as well as vocational skills like sewing and planting crops. Sister Nyirumbe developed a program to help students earn money by creating purses from soda pop tabs, which is the subject of “Sewing Hope,” a book and documentary film currently in production. Since 2002, annual enrollment at St Monica’s has surged from 31 to more than 300, and most leave the school with permanent jobs.
Traveling the world to advocate on behalf of the school, Sister Nyirumbe also brings bring attention to the ongoing violence caused by rebel groups in Uganda. In 2007, she was named a CNN Hero. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea praised her mission and determination earlier this year during a visit to Uganda.
The School for New Learning at DePaul University provides a distinctive approach to learning for adults, with customized programs that build upon abilities and experiences add knowledge and develop skills to help achieve personal and professional goals. A fundamental idea behind the school is learning from experience.
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