After 30 years of mission in Kenya, Sister Leonella Sgorbati began her service in Somalia, in the area where she had always excelled: training young nurses. Somalia: a country torn apart by war for decades. The young people didn’t know what peace was. But the NGO SOS Kinderdorf had a plan: to open a nursing school in Mogadishu, and Sister Leonella was ready for this wonderful adventure of peace and hope.
Mogadishu, 2001
There they were, in that long line, trying to get into nursing school. After so many years of war, the desire for a better future for a young Somali was—unfortunately—inevitably tied to the possibility of leaving and going far, far away. Far from the war, but also far from their homeland. These people hadn’t fled; they were dreaming of a possible future by remaining in Somalia: the opening of a nursing school in Mogadishu offered them the opportunity, at least, to dream…
“SOS is opening a school for professional nurses here in Mogadishu. Anyone with a secondary school certificate and knowledge of English can enroll.”
The message, published in the city newspapers—the mimeographed sheets circulating around the capital—and announced on three local radio stations, spread rapidly, and in less than 48 hours, more than a hundred applicants showed up. Each presented a brand-new school certificate and stated their ages, with a few exceptions, ranging from 29 to 38.
There was no time to dwell on the validity of diplomas or dates of birth: the entrance exam would make the selection. And so it was: twenty-four candidates passed the course: twelve boys and twelve girls. They first applied themselves to an in-depth study of the English language, for eight months. After that, they would embark on a four-year program, including nursing, midwifery, and public health. (From the book TUTTO in tre parole).
Sister Leonella guided the school’s early steps with great skill, but not without difficulty, until the first group graduated in 2006. A few days later, she was killed by seven gunshots, and her last words were: “I Forgive, I forgive, I forgive!” Just like those of Jesus.
To achieve this forgiveness, Sister Leonella also had to learn to disarm herself, as we read in her Diaries:
Last week, for a few days I had problems: receiving, then forgiving a very heavy and untrue accusation. What I had to do was very clear to me, but inside me there was denial. I was praying, but the “No”, “violence” inside me was making me feel that the prayer was not “right”. I was asking something with my mind and my will, but I was feeling that another part of my will and my heart were denying my prayer. In
desperation, I clung to you, my Mother Consolata and entreated you. You answered me creating a situation which humiliated me, requesting me to open my heart to forgiveness because I, too, needed help and forgiveness! Thanks! Prayer. Disarm me/disarm us.
Today, the school founded and led in its early days by Sister Leonella is called the “SOS College of Health Science University.” It is recognized nationally and internationally, and its first students are pursuing it with excellent results.
A sign that unarmed peace triumphs over war. Always.
Read more about Blessed Leonella by visiting this page.
