A Catholic Nun serving in South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese has called upon Christian parents and guardians in the East-Central African nation to bring up children under their care in Christian faith by introducing them to the life of the church.
Speaking to journalists when pupils of Sacred Heart Nursery school visited the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference (SSCBC) Secretariat in Juba on Wednesday, September 28, Sr. Margaret Lakop said that introducing children to the life of the church will help them found their respective lives on essential moral and spiritual principles and influence good behavior.
“I am encouraging parents to introduce their children to church life because this is the only way we can spread the word and the gospel of the church,” Sr. Lakop who serves as the Administrator and teacher at the Sacred Heart Nursery in Juba said.
The member of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SHS) told journalists that “the Catholic Church always teaches children good moral and spiritual behaviors in schools.”
“The behaviors will let them know more about Christianity and how to serve God in whatever situation they are,” she further said in reference to children.
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The Administrator of Sacred Heart Nursery school in Juba expressed her spiritual solidarity with children from Christian families in the capital city of the world’s youngest nation.
She said, “I am praying to God to change the behavior of the children towards Christianity because they will know more about the Catholic Church and its principles.”
“The Catholic Church will also assist the children in learning how to pray so that they can receive blessings from God because every person created by God requires his blessings,” Sr. Lakop told journalists in Juba during her school’s visit to SSCBC Secretariat on September 28.
She reached out to children who lack family care and living on the streets to “join missionary schools in order to secure a better future for themselves and the community that God has planned to be served with gospel messages.”
Sr. Lakop said she found it regrettable that “Our children are on the streets of the city with no one to look after them.”
“We pray that God will bless and touch their hearts in order for them to come back to their senses because they have been going through some difficulties that they were not supposed to go through,” she said.
The SHS member continued in reference to children who lack family care and are roaming the streets of Juba, “We also pray that God will bless and assist them in returning to study with their brothers and sisters in order for them to have a better future.”
SHS members are involved in education, health, social work, pastoral in parishes and livelihood programs. They are involved in development projects in South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and USA.
Most of these projects are service providing entities such as pastoral activities in Catholic Parishes, schools, orphanages, the socio-economic empowerment of women and youth, agriculture, and health centers, among other initiatives at the grassroots.