Sr. Hellen Chiriro Rumbidzai, LCBL, is a 2018 Administration Track graduate of the Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) program in Malawi.
She used the planning and resource mobilization skills she learned in the SLDI program to secure a significant grant, enabling her to create an archive of records for her congregation, the Little Children of Our Blessed Mary (LCBL). She believes the archive will assist in centralizing records and will improve data security and privacy.
“It's a project long overdue. The records of the congregation are scattered in different communities. There's risk of losing important documents,” remarked Sr. Hellen.
Sr. Hellen says this project, although not yet complete, is her greatest success.
So far, she has worked to shelve and arrange paper documents in a central location and digitize records whenever possible, with back-up storage.
She has also obtained equipment such as a scanner and laminating machine to protect documents.
She is gathering information from the Archdiocese, the congregation’s communities and other places where sisters have worked to include in the archives.
In addition, she is interested in exploring how to obtain information through audio visual methods.
Sr. Hellen’s interests in preserving her congregation’s story has also led her to start writing a historical document for her congregation.
The information she gathers for the archives is assisting her in this process. She is genuinely interested in her work and hopes to pursue a course in Archives and Records.
Sr. Hellen credits SLDI with helping her to develop her skills and zeal for this work:
“ASEC has helped me to be systematic and organized and to be concerned about our resources. I have improved in record keeping and I share the passion with others. I am happy and thankful that ASEC has enabled me to make this important contribution to my congregation.”
