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{
    "id": 550208,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/550208/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 64,
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    "content": "books, once again. You will recall that a daughter of Nyeri, the late Prof. Wangari Maathai, was the first African woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. This did Nyeri proud, internationally. May the Almighty God bless us all in peace. This occasion will have the same significance. Hon. Senators, I am sure that many of you are wondering about the Sister; who she is and why her life is so significant. I was not also familiar with that until this occasion prompted me to find out. Sister Stefani was born on 22nd August, 1891 at Anfo, Brescia which is in Italy. She was a Roman Catholic Italian nun and a member of the Consolata Missionary Sisters. She joined the Consolata Missionary Sisters in 1911 and became professed member in 1914 prior to the beginning of World I. Upon entering the missionary she was sent by Blessed Joseph Allamano to come to Kenya in January, 1915 where her mission was to serve as a nurse and a teacher in Gikondi, which is my home area in Mukurweini. She left at the tender age of 23 years and did not have the opportunity to return home. Luckily for her, from the outset, on her arrival in Kenya, Sister Stefani was fully and warmly embraced by our people. Since the old generation would not pronounce Italian names, they gave her the name “Nyaatha” or “Nyina wa Nyaatha” which in Kikuyu means “a person of mercy”. Hon. Senators, Nyaatha was by all accounts a completely selfless individual. She immersed herself in our community and its way of living. In a bid to learn Kikuyu quickly, she went to work with Sister Constanza who supervised workers in the first missionary coffee plantation. Here, she lived and toiled alongside our people, sharing from the very beginning an existence of hardship and humility. It would not have been easy for her. The coffee plantation was situated at the edge of the forest and all Sister Stefani had was daily contact with 300 inexperienced illiterate labourers whom she tried to teach. It is said that she worked, come rain or shine, painstakingly trying at the same time to draw out the secrets of our community, the kikuyu, from the voice of the workers. She also took advantage without giving up or losing heart when the listeners told her that they did not understand her language. Once she learnt to express herself more fluently, Sister Stefani was entrusted with the workers’ evening classes with some lessons to the boys and all youth, which is now a boarding school called The Nyeri Minor Seminary. On 25th May, 1920, along with two other young Consolata Missionaries, Sister Stefani arrived at Gikondi Mission where, Father Dominico Gillio, the priest in charge of the Mission assigned her different tasks. It is alleged that he instructed her to “Spend the mornings in the classroom with the boys, the youth and all those showing an interest in learning; the afternoon with the Catholics, cattlemen and the other people.” She was to go to every village and home and make contact with everybody and treat the sick and look for more pupils. Sister Stefani did just that. She went to the villages on friendly visits to establish new contacts and especially help those who were in need, either because of disease or school enrolment. She entered the huts, penetrated the jungle fearlessly with a courage that sprang from her deep rooted faith. She talked, preached and instructed patiently and finally baptized them. It is The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}