Poland honours Ugandan nun
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
18.10.2016 12:46
A Ugandan nun, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, is the first recipient of the Veritatis Splendor (Splendour of the Truth) Award, founded by the Małopolska Province regional authorities in southern Poland.
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe. Photo: PAP/Jacek Bednarczyk
At a ceremony in Kraków on Monday, Sister Nyirumbe, a member of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, spoke about her work in helping and teaching marketable skills to women and children once victimized by Joseph Kony’s fundamentalist rebel army in Uganda.
Sister Nyirumbe received a diploma, a silver laurel, a cheque for USD 100,000 and a sewing machine.
She said that the machine made her particularly happy because the metaphor of sewing is important in her work. “We are using machines to sew up girls’ lives,” she said.
The award, which is to be given out every two years, commemorates the legacy of Saint John Paul II, aiming to promote those whose openness to other people can serve a model.
The name of the award refers to the late Pope John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical “Veritatis Splendor”, which calls for disinterested love and dialogue.
In 2014, Sister Nyirumbe was included in Time magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People”. (mk/pk)