Advocacies

Preserving the Right to a Dignified Life for Every Person

HEALTH - Community Health Development and Wellness
EDUCATION - Education and Scholarship
CLIMATE SUSTENANCE - Environmental Sustainability
VOCATION - Vocation/Formation
SOCIAL CARE - Care for Vulnerable Persons/The Poor/Other Social Services
PASTORAL - Pastoral Care

Mission

S/No	Advocacy	Details
1.	Community Health Development	IHM Sisters seek to offer compassionate and holistic health care to persons afflicted with diseases. We offer care to those who cannot afford the cost of treatment, especially in different countries in Africa. In addition to medical care, our health centers offer health programs mostly to educate women on health issues. We run awareness programs to address holistic development to individuals, institutions, and organizations. Hospitals- We own 5 hospitals and maternities; 5 rural clinics. Health Centers. Community Outreach. Unfunded Patients- Charity. Mental Health Care.
2.	Education/Scholarship	Our Education/Scholarship Advocacy comprises all schools we manage and have sisters in. As of January 2020, we own 22 Grade Schools, 16 High Schools, and three health schools. We have a presence in other 52 Grade Schools and 22 High Schools owned by Dioceses and others. These schools offer scholarships to needy students. Each year, more than 30 young women are being trained as nurses in our institute on scholarship. The number of kids on scholarship in Grade Schools runs in the hundreds. About 100 kids are on scholarship in our High Schools. Normally, our scholarships cover Tuition, Room, and Board and even needs for the family of the recipient. Schools- Nursery/Primary: own 22 Grade schools; in 52 Grade Schools- Nigeria, Ghana. High School- own 16 high school; in 22 High Schools. Scholarships and Funding for indigent Students. Nursing Schools- in 10 Schools of Nursing- Nigeria and Ghana. Educational Materials- books, Pens, Pencils, Toys, etc. Computers and other Resources.
3.	Environmental Sustainability	IHM Sisters engage in means of cultivation of land both for production and preservation. We have farms and animal husbandry at the subsistence and cooperative level. We plant Palm Trees in one of the States in Nigeria and teach the Youth about the danger of depleting the earth's resources. We have a fish farm where we use only natural products to raise fish. Our bread industry does not produce for profit, and we have stipulated quantity we give out to the poor every day. We are embarking on a project to have a constant power supply at our boarding schools through solar energy. Palm Project (Planting of Palm Trees), Nkpor, Nigeria. Poultry Farms- Onitsha, Nigeria, and Ghana Apiary, Adani, Nigeria. Cassava Farms, Adani and Adaba, Nigeria. Pineapple Orchard, Nkpor, Nigeria. Fishery, Nkpor, Nigeria. Farming- Rice, Cassava, Animal Husbandry, Adaba, Nigeria. Cosmetics/House Cleaning items production, Nkpor, Nigeria. Bakery- Nkpor, Obeledu and Ufuma, Nigeria. Altar Bread Making, Nkpor, Nigeria. Rural Water Projects: Adaba, Adani, Ogwa, Okwu, Inyishi, Abakaliki, Nigeria. Solar Energy for our Schools. Sewing Industries- Nnewi, Onitsha, Owerri, Nigeria.
4.	Formation	Formation is a process of preparation for young girls who express interest in joining the institute. On a broader note, every Sister is under formation through ongoing formation till death. The stages of Initial formation include Aspirancy, Postulancy, Novitiate, Scholasticate, and Temporary Profession. According to our institute, each stage of formation entails keeping the young girls in a house designated for formation for them to embark on a journey of self-discovery, learning the rudiments of Religious Life according to our institute, and discernment. We have formation houses in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. This Advocacy includes the training we give to sisters after the initial profession to prepare them for the world's mission. Each year some sisters are sent to different regions on Sabbatical leave. We raise funds to make this experience worthwhile for the Sisters. Aspirancy – Urualla, Nigeria; Eldoret, Kenya. Postulancy- Onitsha, Nigeria; Kumasi, Ghana; Kiambu, Kenya. Novitiate- Nkpor, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; Kumasi, Ghana. Scholasticate- Amawbia-Awka, Nigeria. Ongoing Formation- All Countries. Tertianship- Nigeria. Training of Sisters- all Countries. Associates- all Countries. Sabbatical Program- all countries.
5.	Care for Vulnerable Persons and other Social Services	At the individual, communal, and Institute level, there are always persons who depend on our charity to feed, clothe, get an education, and basically live. This population includes Persons Living with HIV/AIDS for whom we have two homes; Retirement Home for our Elderly Sisters and two for Lay Persons (no one pays anything here); Widows' Apostolate- we build houses for vulnerable widows, care for them and bury them when they die; Youth Ministry and Mental Care for Young People located in Awka, Nigeria; Hope Children's Home, Kenya; Family Light of the Nation Apostolate; and IHM Boarding Home for Girls in Sierra Leone. Heerey Caring Hands (Feeding the Poor)- Nigeria. Mother of Christ Compassionate Home (Home for People Living with HIV/AIDS), Onitsha. Hope Children Home (Home for Street Kids; Kids Living with HIV/AIDS)- Kenya. Widows Apostolate- Nigeria, Ghana. Retirement Home for Elderly Sisters, Nkpor, Nigeria. Retirement Home for Elderly Lay People, Onitsha, Nigeria. Mater Christi Counseling Center (Residency for Mental Health Treatment), Awka, Nigeria. Camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), Igboho, Nigeria. Madonna Renewal Center, Freeport, USA. Compassionate Kitchen, Stoke-on-Trent, England Homelessness, Kenya, Nigeria, USA. Extreme Poverty in Families- Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya. Prison Ministry Especially for Women- Nigeria. Sharing and Caring Hands (Volunteers), Minneapolis, MN.
6.	Pastoral Care	On Pastoral Care, we have programs on Faith Formation, Music Ministry, Pastoral Care of the Sick at Homes and Hospitals, and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Training for Sisters. Faith Formation – All Countries. Community Care- Pastoral Care of the Sick in the communities, Freeport, Syracuse, Nigeria, Ghana. Madonna Renewal Center, Nkpor, Nigeria. Madonna Renewal Center, Wetlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Training for Sisters in USA. Block Rosary Crusades in Nigeria. Music Ministry, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Nigeria. Youth Ministry/Youth Center, Amawbia- Awka, Nigeria. Family Light of the Nation, Amawbia- Awka, Nigeria. IHM Boarding Home- Sierra Leone, Hostel for Girls- Awka, Maiduguri, Nigeria.