Sophia Institute
&
the Bakhita Initiative for African Women
We are a charitable trust working to promote the dignity and well-being of women in sub-Saharan Africa through education, pastoral and spiritual formation, and community support projects. Our aim is to provide women with the skills they need to find productive employment, using their skills and abilities to nurture lives of dignity and flourishing for themselves and their communities.
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Rooted in the Catholic tradition, we engage collaboratively across faiths and spiritual traditions.
We operate under two different branches: The Sophia Institute for theological education and spiritual formation, and the Bakhita Women Empowerment project for community support.
Two Projects - One Vision
Sophia Institute & The Bakhita Initiative for African Women
Sophia Institute
The vision of Sophia Institute is to form women and men ALIVE in the SPIRIT and THRIVING in Ministry. Inspired by the Life-giving Spirit, the Sophia Institute offers an oasis of serenity and peace to all women and men who seek to connect with their spiritual depth and discover and discern God’s will in their lives to enhance their mission in life. SI accompanies women and men and communities on a journey of depth through transformative spiritual and theological formation rooted in the Gospel and enlivened by African values. SI’s diverse and creative programmes are designed to meet the diffferent needs of individuals and communities, with a particular focus on developing the educational, spiritual and pastoral skills of women religious leaders.
The Bakhita Initiative
The Bakhita Initiative for African Women is an interfaith project under the patronage of St. Josephine Bakhita, the enslaved African girl who became a saint and universal symbol of the Church’s commitment against slavery. The Bakhita Initiative is motivated by our shared love, faith, and hope as seekers, disciples, and pilgrims in the journey of life inspired by the Spirit of the Risen Christ.
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Working in close collaboration with the Sophia Institute, our aim is to empower poor women from diverse backgrounds through education and mutual support, to join hands and uplift one another, enabling each woman to embrace her life’s purpose.​​​​​
