The Little Sisters of St. Joseph - Africa

The Little Sisters of St Joseph - Africa (LSSJ-J) are a Catholic Women Franciscan religious congregation started by Msgr. Peter Joseph Savelberg in Heerlen, Netherlands in the year 1872. The congregation arrived in the East African region and have been established at Kilgoris since 1963.

The LSSJ-A carry out charity work in Kenya and Tanzania with main offices at Karen, Nairobi.

Together with the first Sisters, Savelberg developed his charitable works focused on the very poor; education for the poor young, either in formal schools or informal schools like vocational schools; and care of the destitute and the aged.

From the very start, the activities of his congregation were characterized by simplicity and modesty. Mgr. Savelberg wished his Sisters to work in small villages in the parishes where the greater part of the population were simple and poor people, mostly in places which do not attract great attention and where other people never liked and dared to work since his Motto was "To help where nobody helped".

The Sisters were to dedicate themselves quietly and without worry to the mentally retarded; those who suffered from epileptics; the old and handicapped children; the unmarried mothers, etc. The activities the sisters carried out have expanded in the course of years but as a congregation we have always proved to be faithful followers of our founder, Mgr. Savelberg, by committing ourselves in many fields related to:

• Nursing
• Education/Vocational schools
• Care for the mentally retarded
• Child welfare
• Care for the aged
• Social ministries
• Agricultural activities

The Arch-diocese of Arusha invited the Little Sisters of St. Joseph to work in the health center, at the pre-school and with vocational training for the young people. The Sisters provide various outreach services for local communities and they are doing well. Those services are mainly in the Ngong Diocese, Arch Diocese of Nairobi, the Nyahururu and Kitui Dioceses in Kenya and in the Arch-diocese of Arusha in Tanzania. These services are:

• Education
• Retreat Centers
• Pastoral
• Social
• Medical