At the conclusion of the 2025 UISG Plenary Assembly, we gather in this section the testimonies and reflections of several Superiors General on the key themes that animated our days of listening, discernment, and communion.

Through these weekly interviews, we wish to open a space of listening and communion, where the experience of those who, from diverse contexts, walk the synodal path in service of the Gospel and consecrated life in today’s world can truly resonate.

This week, we share the words of Sr. Roxanne SCHARES, SSND, UISG Vice Executive Secretary, on the value of consecrated life today.

"I am Sister Roxanne Schares, a School Sister of Notre Dame, originally from the United States. After teaching high school for nine years in three rural American states, I was sent on mission to Kenya. There, I taught, worked with teachers in leadership training, and accompanied women who wished to join our religious community.

I then had the profound experience of working with refugees for nearly ten years. First in camps in Tanzania, and later with urban refugees in Nairobi. I also collaborated with the Jesuit Refugee Service as the Education Coordinator for all of Africa. This role led me to travel to many countries — sometimes to conduct needs assessments, such as in Chad or Darfur — other times to follow up on our projects or to help improve our peace education programs for populations affected by war.

Among the many stories I’ve lived, one often comes back to me. While I was working in a camp in Tanzania with Burundian refugees, one man played an essential role: he was our catechist and also served as an interpreter from Swahili to Kirundi. The camp held nearly 50,000 people, about 75% of whom were Catholic.

This man had become a refugee at the age of 17. He was by then the father of several children. One day, I asked him:
– “What keeps you going in such difficult conditions? The lack of food, inadequate healthcare…”
He looked at me and simply said:
– “Sister, for Christians, there is always hope. God knows when we can return home. God knows.”

A few weeks later, he came to our office — a simple mud hut — full of joy. His ninth child had just been born. He told me the name they gave her: Christina Vtorina Nigi Nigesei. I asked him what it meant. He answered:– “God knows.”

That experience, like so many others with refugees, left a deep impression on me. It taught me that hope is God’s gift, revealed through shared presence, through suffering lived together, and through the struggles of daily life.

Again and again, I have discovered that we are called to the margins. And it is there, I believe, that religious men and women can truly make a difference: by accompanying people in their lives, being present with them, and discovering together the gift of hope that God offers us."