Development
Since Spiritan missionaries first settled in Africa, the congregation’s presence has gone hand in hand with human development: education, health care, agriculture, and community-building alongside evangelisation. SCCAI encourages every circumscription to keep this integral vision of development alive in its apostolates.
Financing and Self-Reliance
Each member circumscription contributes annually to the running of SCCAI and to its Centres for Ongoing Formation. The Executive Secretary, in liaison with the President, also seeks partners to help these programmes grow toward greater self-sufficiency over time.
Developing our Personnel
SCCAI invites circumscriptions to plan the training and development of their members with the priority areas identified for formators in mind, from Spiritan spirituality to behavioural sciences, so that personnel are well equipped for mission today.
Watch: Mission as Development
Stories from the Field
Under the Acacia Tree: Restoring Hope and Dignity among Drought-Affected Families in Borana, Ethiopia
By George Mokua, C.S.Sp. — August 2026
Beneath the shade of an acacia tree at Sts. Peter and Paul Dubuluk Catholic Church, women from the Dubuluk Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Borana, Ethiopia, gathered to receive assistance after a severe 2021 drought had destroyed their livestock and displaced their families. In response, Rev. Fr. John Mphatso Luwani, C.S.Sp., a Spiritan missionary from Malawi serving as Parish Priest at Good Shepherd Catholic Parish, Dhokole, designed a three-part humanitarian programme.
- Food assistance — maize flour, cooking oil, and beans distributed to 800 households.
- Livestock restocking — a goat or sheep given to each of 120 women from single-headed households, to help rebuild herds and restore livelihoods.
- Sanitary assistance — sanitary items provided to 500 women and school-going girls, accompanied by a menstrual hygiene awareness session led by Miss Monica Jilo.
The programme, made possible through the generosity of Missio München, Germany, was extended to all households irrespective of religious affiliation. The leader of the Dubuluk IDP Camp thanked the Catholic Church for standing with the community through repeated hardship, praising Fr. Luwani’s commitment to serving displaced families. As the article reflects, “true love of one’s neighbour is revealed by practical care for those in need” — a visible sign of the Church’s, and of the Spiritan charism’s, commitment to integral human development.
Read the full story on the SCCAI Substack: Under the Acacia Tree: Restoring Hope and Dignity among Drought-Affected Families in Borana, Ethiopia
News from the Spiritan Centre for Empowerment & Humanitarian Support (SCEHS), Makurdi
The Spiritan Centre for Empowerment & Humanitarian Support (SCEHS – Libertas Domus), founded in 2024 by Fr. Dr. Samuel Terwase Udogbo, C.S.Sp. in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria, continues its work of empowering individuals and communities, including displaced persons at the MEGA IDP Camp, Mbayongo. Below are five recent updates from the Centre’s Facebook page.
A Second Educational Scholarship for Five Displaced Teenage Girls
SCEHS – Libertas Domus has launched its second educational scholarship initiative, this time supporting five teenage girls affected by displacement. The Centre stresses that while conflict may take away a home, it must never take away a young person’s future, and describes educating a girl as an investment in restoration, stability and future community leadership. The initiative is made possible through the generosity of partner St. Joseph Secondary School, Obarike-Ito, Benue State, and aims to help these young women move from being seen as victims of conflict to becoming, in the Centre’s words, “architects of hope.”
Watch on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/reel/2136376703621539/
Gratitude to the Family of Professor Agbo for Supporting Girls at the MEGA IDP Camp
SCEHS – Libertas Domus extended heartfelt thanks to the family of Professor Agbo of the University of Jos Faculty of Medicine for a generous donation of clothing and shoes to teenage and adolescent girls at the MEGA IDP Camp in Mbayongo, Makurdi. The Centre noted that, for young girls navigating the hardships of displacement, clean clothing and proper footwear are more than basic necessities – they restore a sense of dignity, normalcy and confidence during a deeply difficult time.
Watch on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/reel/1054986747351846/
Libertas Domus Football Academy: Talent Forged Through Resilience
The Centre’s Libertas Domus Football Academy continues to nurture young footballing talent in Makurdi. SCEHS highlights that the Academy does not depend on manicured pitches or golden trophies to succeed – it is built in the dust, sustained by passion, and shaped through resilience, reflecting a conviction that true talent does not wait for a perfect stage but creates its own opportunities.
Watch on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/reel/1009010775490129/
Football Academy: Building Tomorrow’s Champions Through Daily Dedication
In a further update on the Libertas Domus Football Academy, SCEHS showcased its young players in training, crediting the raw passion of the players and the dedication of their coaches for driving the programme forward. The Centre describes every drill, match and extra training hour as a step toward excellence, with no room allowed for fatigue in the pursuit of a better future through sport.
Watch on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/reel/1428506376052467/
Celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Fr. Samuel Terwase Udogbo, C.S.Sp.
On 8 September 2026, SCEHS paid tribute to its founder, Fr. Samuel Terwase Udogbo, C.S.Sp., on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee – twenty-five years of religious life. The Centre honoured his quarter-century of quiet, faithful service and steadfast devotion, praying that his years ahead be filled with peace, strength and joy. Well-wishes for the celebration were also extended from the Gambia Pastoral Institute and Saint Peter’s Parish in The Gambia, where Fr. Udogbo previously served.
View on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122170040582660270&set=pb.61569808113586.-2207520000&type=3
Follow the Centre’s ongoing work on its Facebook page.