ACWECA Communication Staff

Sr. Linah Siabana of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa has urged National Associations of Consecrated Women in Africa to create a conducive environment in their communities to avoid mental health complications.

Sr. Siabana said religious communities are expected to be places where members can live an experience of prayer, love, acceptance of the word, suffering, forgiveness and fraternal dedication.

“As the community matures, people become more and more human.

“A good and normal community builds an orderly, open, joyful, trusting, simple and creative family, lived in faith and in sisterhood around Christ,” Sr. Siabana said.

She said this on Wednesday to the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) conference in Lilongwe

According to Sr. Siabana, some of the strategies to self care include: finding a sense of purpose in one’s life, building positive beliefs in one’s abilities, surrounding oneself with positive people and embracing change.

She gave a presentation on mental health and self-care for religious congregations today.

Mental health is a basic human right which is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development

Acweca is holding its 19th plenary assembly and celebrating a golden jubilee in Lilongwe, Malawi.