Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Project, undergraduate student Sabrina Khan interviewed Sister Eugénie Babene, who teaches at Sacred Heart College (Collège Sacre Cœur) in Dakar. In this interview, conducted in July 2015, Babene discusses her experience as a member of the Piarist Sisters and her experience as a teacher, including the ways the school promotes interreligious understanding among its Christian and Muslim students.

Can you introduce yourself?

I am Sister Eugénie Babene. I am a Piarist Sister, which means a religious Piarist who has consecrated her life for a certain goal—for me, it is service to Christ and others through education. By education, I mean school. I have been a teacher since 2012. I am also a student.

Can you describe the religious formation process (the steps to become a Piarist Sister)?

Our religious development begins with the postulate¸ which lasts one or two years after having taken the baccalaureate. Next is the novitiate. The first half of the step is the canonical year, in which you live at your assigned house to closely study religious life and community. In the second year, the pastoral year, you learn about apostolic life. For me, this meant learning how to work with children and youth. This stage depends on the mission of your congregation, whether it is education, like the Piarist Sisters, or health, or women’s rights. The next step is the juniorate. In this stage, you learn the fundamentals of religious life. This includes a deeper understanding of the self. I am at this stage, which can last six to nine years, depending on the congregation. After this stage, we continue to learn and to improve ourselves, but the formal development ends.

What role does education play in Senegal’s future?

First, when a child is educated, the whole person develops. There are not a lot of students who do not go to school, but rare students in villages who do not attend school cannot be assured of a bright future. By contrast, children who have an education, even if they did not complete their schooling, can earn a living. For example, I see little girls from villages who do not go to school. What do they do? They come here and do housecleaning, cooking, or childcare. It’s difficult for a child of 10 years old to work like that. They work because they did not go to school.

In your opinion, what does it mean to be Catholic?

It’s simply to love, because I cannot say “I am Catholic, but I don’t love others.” When I pass by the school, I say hello. A simple hello, for me, is the recognition that someone else is like me. It is also to value the weak and the poor. When I see someone weak and I say hello, I see that it does something to that person—it gives them a small smile. So, for me, being Catholic means making an effort to love everyone.

What is the greatest challenge facing education in Senegal at the moment?

Strikes that demand money, scholarships, and funding.

Can you define social justice?

There is a great difference between the rich and poor. When you go into the suburbs, the houses are not pretty to look at, and the children are not bathed. In the city, everything is better maintained. I see the injustice. But who can regulate it? I don’t know.

Do you think that faith informs social justice?

Justice has a link with the Catholic faith. In our church, we search everyday to help those who have less. Always, at the beginning of the year, we see whom we can help, particularly through Caritas [a Catholic NGO].

How do you encourage enrollment in Catholic schools?

It’s the parents, who see the good results of our education, who choose Catholic schools. There are a lot more Muslims than Christians in our schools, since Senegal is a majority Muslim country. But parents can see the good results: discipline and hard work. This discipline is informed by Catholic values.

According to your experience and observation, can you describe the interreligious environment in Catholic schools?

You can’t tell which students are Christian and which students are Muslim. Muslims students are not permitted to wear the veil, since it’s a Catholic school. Since students wear a uniform, you also cannot tell who is rich and who is poor. Each morning there is a prayer. Everyone respects the silence, but no one is forced to participate. Parents agree to these rules before registering their children. So, people do not protest our policies, because families who disagree choose not to enroll their children in our schools. In terms of religious education, we have the catechesis. This is only for Christian students to learn their religion and how to live in society. Other students study la morale, which is secular. There are also certain things, such as the opening of school activities and the end of the year events, where everyone must participate. This is so that students can play together and celebrate fraternity. For Christian students, attending Mass is mandatory. For Muslim students, it is not mandatory, and students can arrive at school after the end of Mass. Furthermore, teachers do not have to study religion to teach at Catholic schools, since there are a lot of Muslim teachers. There is a particular teacher to teach the catechesis. Others do not teach it.

Do you have any particular future hopes for students who attend Catholic schools?

In general, students who complete a Catholic education find work. I also hope that they are polite and disciplined. However, sometimes I see boys who use drugs in schools. You have to be vigilant to find these students. If you catch a student doing drugs, you ask their parents to come to school. Sometimes the parents do not know their child is using drugs. Teachers also call a student’s parents if they do not show up for class. This is one of the advantages of Catholic schools: everything is monitored. In public schools, there isn’t enough monitoring because school is free.

What is the role of education in interreligious dialogue?

In the Catholic education system, we teach students fraternity and to live well with others in the world, even if their peers are not Catholic. We teach them to share. In general, if a student is well educated, and if he knows his religion well, he lives well with others. In Senegal, there is friendliness between Catholics and Muslims.