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Congresswoman Johnson Hosts Ugandan Sister Nyirumbe to Headline World of Women Peace Conference in Dallas

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By EADM Correspondent

In Summary: A Catholic Nun of the order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus since 1972, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, based in Gulu, Uganda, is a humanitarian and international peace builder  who openly defied Joseph Kony and rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army in their 20-year reign of terror in Northern Uganda. Starting off with one sewing machine, she founded Monica Girls’ Tailoring Center in Gulu in 2001 and has since  given hope to more than 2,000 young women, many of whom were abducted, raped, tortured and forced to become rebels and kill their own family members. Sister Rosemary is one of TIME's 100 most influential people of 2014 and was a CNN Hero in 2007.

Hurst, Texas--Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson will on Saturday, April 30 host Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe from Gulu, Uganda as the keynote speaker at the 16th annual conference of a world of women for world peace. The conference will be held at Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas, starting at 9:30 AM. A flier announcing the event states that “Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, 30th District of Texas, proudly presents the 16th annual conference of a world of women for world peace.” The event will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at  Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora Street Dallas TX2 75201 starting at 9:30 AM.


Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

The conference will be headlined by renowned international peace builder Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe from Gulu, Uganda. A Director of Saint Monica Girls’ Tailoring Center in Gulu, she will deliver a keynote address at the peace conference. Gaytha Davis, a staffer in the office of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson office in Dallas told the EADM News in a phone interview that this is the 16th peace conference the Congresswoman is organizing. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson “invited Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe from Uganda because of her renowned record as an international peace builder,” Gaytha Davis, coordinating the event on behalf of the Congresswoman said.


Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, based in Gulu, Uganda, is one of TIME's 100 most influential people of 2014 and was a CNN Hero in 2007. She is the Director of Saint Monica Girls’ Tailoring Centre, Gulu, Uganda. A Catholic Nun whose humanitarian work has drawn the attention of Bill and Chelsea Clinton, Forest Whitaker, and other high-profile supporters around the world, has dedicated her life to helping girls formerly held captive by warlord Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe began her humanitarian work in Uganda after joining the Catholic order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1972 at the tender age 15. As director of St. Monica’s since 2001, she has given hope to more than 2,000 young women, many of whom were abducted, raped, tortured and forced to kill their own family members as soldiers in Kony’s army. In addition to providing a safe haven and a welcome home for former abductees, often shunned and persecuted by the people of their own villages, she has given them a way to support themselves through job training in tailoring, catering and other skills.


St. Monica Tailoring Girls' Center in Gulu

Approximately 250 girls and 250 children are currently living at St. Monica Girls’ Tailoring Center. Sister Rosemary also oversees a second school in Atiak, in Northern Uganda. Her inspiring story is told in Sewing Hope, a documentary produced by filmmaker Derek Watson and narrated by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, and a book of the same title co-authored by Reggie Whitten, co-founder of Pros for Africa, and professional writer Nancy Henderson. All proceeds from book sales go to help the girls at St. Monica’s.

Starting off with only one sewing machine, Sister Rosemary openly defied Joseph Kony and the rebel soldiers and commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in their 20-year reign of terror in both Northern Uganda and South Sudan. According to Forest Whitetaker, “what truly fascinates the people who have the privilege to meet with Sister Rosemary — as I did when I narrated a film about her, Sewing Hope — is her magnetic and contagious energy.” Writing in TIME, Forest Whitaker, a producer, director and Academy Award-winning actor, states: “For girls who were forcibly enlisted as child soldiers, Sister Rosemary has the power to rekindle a bright light in eyes long gone blank,” adding, “for women with unwanted children born out of conflict, she allows them to become loving mothers at last; the traumas she heals are unfathomable, but the reach of her love is boundless.” 


St. Monica Tailoring Girls' Center in Gulu

“Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe  has made it her mission to provide within an orphanage a home, a shelter for women and girls whose lives have been shattered by violence, rape and sexual exploitation,” wrote Forest Whitetaker in TIME on April 23, 2014.   At the Saint Monica Girls’ Tailoring Center she runs, those women can become themselves again, thanks to the security and comfort they feel — a tremendous accomplishment in a country still fragile from years of civil war.