Recent News

Events and happenings

October, 2008: Benebikira Scholarship Board kicks off scholarship program

The Benebikira Sisters Foundation recently formed the Benebikira Scholarship Board consisting of members from various US cities.  The board serves as “the branches” to find sponsors for all of the students at Our Lady of the Angels.  By January 1, 2009, the Benebikira Scholarship Board has set the goal raising $9,000 in order to keep tuition affordable for Rwandan families at Our Lady of the Angels.  Board members include:  Emily Cochran (Chicago), Jon Cofsky (Philadelphia) David Larabell (New York), Erin Luby (Chicago), Tim Martin (Chicago), Ali Nardali (New York), Lynne Ruozzi (Chicago), Kathy Svedman (Chicago), Brian Walsh (Boston), Kathleen Wesley (Chicago) and Chris Vamos (Chicago).

June, 2008: Boston College Professors will visit Rwanda for Reconciliation program

Boston College Professors Theresa O'Keefe and Father John Shea will visit Rwanda this summer to collaborate with Sister Anna Beata Murekatete on the Ministry of Hope, Healing and Reconciliation program. Professors Shea and O'Keefe will bring their expertise in pastoral ministry, religious education and counseling for trauma to the program. The Benebikira Sisters are looking forward to hosting them in the Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills.

January, 2008: Building on the primary school at Our Lady of the Angels begins

Thanks to the help of benefactors of the Benebikira Sisters Foundation, construction on Our Lady of the Angels school has started. The school will be built in three phases, and will educate students from pre-school through secondary school. The community in the Remera neighborhood of Kigali is urgently awaiting the building of the school so their children can receive a Catholic education from the Benebikira Sisters.

November, 2007: The Raskob Foundation funds the Ministry of Hope, Healing and Reconciliation program

The Ministry of Hope, Healing and Reconciliation program is the Benebikira Sisters is led by Sister Anna Beata Murekatete out of the capital city of Kigali, Rwanda. The Raskob Foundation in Wilmington, DE has generously awarded a grant for the first year of the program to cover the training of reconciliation workers in a faith-based program which is empowering Rwandan youth to initiate reconciliation efforts in their respective communities.

May, 2007: Sister Anna Beata Murekatete graduates from Boston College with a dual MA

Sister Anna Beata Murekatete graduates from Boston College with a dual MA in pastoral ministry and education. She was asked to represent the School of Arts and Sciences at the Boston College graduation. Sister Anna returns to Rwanda in June to initiate the Ministry of Hope, Healing and Reconciliation.

May, 2007: The Foundation forms partnership with filmmaker Saya Hillman, a rising fillmaker in Chicago

In April and May, the Benebikira Sisters Foundation had sucessful fundraisers at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA and 826chi's Boring Store in Chicago, IL. The event featured an introduction of the Foundation to the public as well as a screening of Saya Hillman's dating rubik's cube, an award-winning documentary. Hillman will travel to Rwanda in August of 2007 to make a promotional film for the Foundation, which will be featured on the web site.

March, 2007: The Foundation forms its diverse board of directors

After becoming incorporated as a foundation in Chicago, The Benebikira Sisters Foundation formed its Board of Directors. Founder Brendan Kennealey heads up the board with Sister Anna Beata Murekatete, Sister Juvenal Mukamurama, Ms. Sheila McLaughlin, and Timothy Wesley. The Foundation aims to expand its board over the course of the next year to 8-10 members.