Join Us - Vocation Stories - Sister Chero Chuma, CSJP
About Sister Chero
First Profession of Vows: October 18, 2008
Final Profession of Vows: April 13, 2012
Hometown: Eldoret, Kenya
Background: Chero came to the United States as a student in 2000. She began her college studies in Iowa and moved to the Seattle area in 2002 to continue studies at South Seattle Community College.
How she met the CSJPs: While studying in Seattle, Chero met the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, first on-line and then in discussion with Vocation Director Jo-Anne Miller, CSJP, with whom she began to discern her call to vowed religious life.
Present Ministry: Student at Seattle University
What attracted Chero to the Congregation?
“There are a lot of things that attracted me and that are still attracting me to the CSJPs. The main one is their ministry of striving to make peace and sustain justice.” ~Sr. Chero Chuma, CSJP
Read about her profession of final vows
Reflection on Temporary Vows, by Sr. Chero
I continue the ministry of healing and compassionate care as a patient care technician at the inpatient Pulmonary Medicine/Thoracic Surgery unit in Virginia Mason Medical Center in downtown Seattle. It has been a blessing to carry on the healing mission of Jesus Christ by being part of team medicine to improve the quality care of patients and their loved ones. At ministry, I am always reminded to appreciate and enjoy every second of my life. I love my ministry. There is no moment that I have thought of being somewhere else or doing something different. I look forward to continuing with school and sharing my gifts in our own sponsored ministry--PeaceHealth hospitals.
An Opportunity to Give, by Chero Chuma, CSJP
Sister Chero wrote this article during her novitiate ministry experience
The one and a half years of the novitiate has deepened my experience with God through self-transformation in Jesus Christ. This came about through prayer, reflections, community life, and engagement in ministry. During the Canonical Year I volunteered once a week at a homeless shelter. I am more engaged in ministry this second year. For three months last year I ministered at St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, and at The Nurturing Place in Jersey City, New Jersey while balancing prayer and community life. I look forward to three months ministry at the Eastside Women’s Center, a gathering place for homeless women in Bellevue, Washington from February through May, 2008.
St Joseph’s School for the Blind directs its services towards the educational, psychological, social, and physical well-being of students who are blind, visually impaired, and multi-disabled. I started with the class of eight teenagers. The students in the first class were blind but more independent in their daily living activities. They used their canes to move around and could read and write in Braille. With the guidance of their teachers and professionals like speech, occupational and physical therapists, I helped in various places. They taught me how to play some games like Monopoly, Uno and Trouble.
After a month, I worked with the little ones, 3-7 year-olds. They were more dependent in everything because of their multiple disabilities. Besides being blind, they could neither talk nor walk. Through games, plays, and academic activities, the children learn to understand the world around them. The class was much not so much academic, as it was for orientation to some basic life skills. Their schedule was filled with activities for sensory stimulation. Being with them and among them made me aware of my own blindness. They also invited me to think more about the scriptural passages about Jesus healing blind people.
At The Nurturing Place, where economically disadvantaged children are taught through play and experiential learning, I ministered with the 3-6 year-olds. They are the innocent sufferers of poverty, and many of them have spent part of their lives in homeless shelters. Each child is an exceptional creation to be celebrated, nurtured, and loved. It was a blessing to be among the dedicated people who work to win back the childhood that has been robbed by instability and deprivation. I was glad for the opportunity to help tap the uniqueness of each child. By doing so I helped to bring their precious gift into the world.
In addition to these ministry involvements, with the inspiration of Margaret Anna Cusack who was deeply moved by the suffering of the poor and oppressed people, especially women and children, I got involved in a Kenyan women’s radio program that aims at educating and empowering women in Kenya.