Sister Euphrasia (Efu) Nyaki, M.M.

Born: November 18, 1960
Entered: August 26, 1990
Died: May 30, 2026

Dear Sisters, Family, Relatives and Friends,

We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of our dear sister, friend and companion Sister Euphrasia Joseph Nyaki (Efu as she was commonly known). We welcome everyone who is with us today and those who are on livestream especially Efu’s family, Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Brazil Mission Community members, AFYA Holistic Women’s Center team, collaborators and clients and her many students, friends and colleagues across the globe.

WELCOME! SEJA BEM-VINDO e BEM-VINDA! KARIBUNI WOTЕ

On May 30th at 2:30 pm Efu entered into eternal life unexpectedly in Seoul, South Korea after a short illness.

Efu was in Seoul giving a workshop on the topics she shared so graciously around the world in these past years including Somatic Experiencing trauma healing, holistic health care and Family Constellation.

Efu was born in Moshi, Tanzania on November 18, 1960, to Joseph Fredrick Nyaki and Maria Genesis Lyimo Kusare. She was the second in a loving family of nine children.

Her early education was local, and she graduated from Tambaza High School in 1984 with advanced level certificates in math, physics and chemistry. She went on to receive her Diploma in Education in 1986 at the Chang’ombe Teacher Training College in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. As a university student, she was actively involved in Catholic youth programs locally and internationally.

Before entering the Maryknoll Sisters, Efu taught at the Chanjale Seminary from 1987-1989. Efu was attracted to Maryknoll Sisters when she met Sr. Azucena San Pedro who at the time was discerning with one of Efu’s friends. The friend told Ceny she should talk to Efu and so began Efu’s wonderful journey with the Maryknoll Sisters. As she prepared for her entrance into the congregation, Efu taught in both Arusha and Iringa. She officially entered the Maryknoll Sisters at Newburgh, New York on August 26, 1990.

In her novitiate time, Efu took courses at the Maryknoll School of Theology, and served as a nursing assistant in the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care. She pronounced her first vows at Maryknoll New York on August 15, 1992. Efu’s assignment to the Brazil Mission Unit was in April 1993. The collaborative unit welcomed her with these words: “Just as Efu gets excited when she thinks about Brazil and the Unit, so do we!” Efu’s enthusiasm for Maryknoll Mission in Brazil never dimmed and she was active in community life, especially in preparing moments of celebration and rituals. She professed her final vows on May 15, 1999, on the Atlantic shores of Joao Pessoa, Brazil and was so happy that her brother Blass made the journey from Tanzania to celebrate the day with the Maryknoll Brazil Mission Community and friends/partners in mission.

During her early years in Brazil, Efu worked with other Maryknoll Missioners and Brazilians with women’s groups in the areas of mental health, sexuality, human rights, Domestic violence prevention and spirituality. Efu was also very active in the Catholic Church’s Afro-Brazilian pastoral ministry focusing on celebrating Afro-Brazilian identity and culture along with anti-racism efforts. She was a co-founder of Bamidele, the first Afro-Brazilian women’s NGO in the state of Paraiba.

On March 18, 2000, Efu, Sister Connie Pospisil and a Brazilian woman leader, Maria du Lourdes Gomes founded the AFYA Holistic Health Center for Women in the periphery neighborhood of Alto do Mateus in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba. AFYA means ‘health’ in Swahili, the language spoken in Tanzania and parts of East Africa. AFYA offers alternative forms of preventative health care and holistic healing.

AFYA has a particularly empowering effect as those who have participated in the healing process are encouraged to give of their own time to the center as volunteers and cooperative members. In this way, those who have leadership skills often devote themselves to helping others. The Center also offers training opportunities in holistic health techniques including Family Constellation, Somatic Experiencing, Reflexology, Massage, Reiki and numerous other modalities. Initially, local people took the courses and came for healing but over the years people have come from all over Brazil and internationally.

In 2011, Efu spent a month in Haiti helping people overcome trauma following a massive earthquake there that killed hundreds of thousands of people. She returned to Haiti annually for several years with Maryknoll Father Dennis Moorman to train local leaders in trauma healing.

In recent years, Efu spanned the globe teaching Family Constellation and Somatic Experiencing trauma healing in more than 15 countries. Efu was a faculty member of Somatic Experiencing, founded by Dr. Peter Levine, and a Professor of Family Constellation System Therapy by the Hellinger Institute.

Last December, AFYA Holistic Center for Women celebrated 25 years. At the gathering for AFYA’s 25 years, Efu launched her book, Healing Trauma through Family Constellations and Somatic Experiencing: Ancestral Wisdom from the Snail Clan of Tanzania in Portuguese.

Efu was a joyful healer and leader. She was eternally optimistic and was known for focusing on solutions. She dreamed big and worked hard to make those dreams a reality. She loved to sing and dance and will be remembered for her signature yellow.

Upon her passing, Efu’s teammate at AFYA, Bruna Ferreira, wrote this tribute for her death notice card.

Today Heaven receives a great woman.
In her arms, we found healing.
In her gaze, we found love.
Her laughter was a refuge.
Her presence was peace.
She departed but the legacy of affection she planted blooms in each of us.
She will never be forgotten.
We will miss you forever.
     Eternas Saudades

I want to thank everyone here and online for joining the Maryknoll Sisters in celebration of our Sister Efu. We all come together as one, one family, one community, to celebrate the gift of her life.

To Efu’s family, Kwa Familia ya Efu,

Napenda kutoa pole zangu za dhati. Tuko Pamoja nanyi katika sala no upendo. Fahamuni kwamba roho ya dada yenu inaendelea kuishi ndani ya kila mmoja wenu na katika watu wote ambao maisha yao aliyagusa. Masista wa Maryknoll wanawashukuru kwa kushiriki nasi maisha ya Efu.

Tumekuwa Pamoja na Becky katika siku hizi, na tutaendelea kuwatumia upendo wetu kupitia kwake katika siku zijazo. Mungu awabariki na kuwafariji. Amina.

Translation: My deepest sorrow. We hold you in prayer and love. Know that your sister’s spirit lives on in each of you and in all the people whose life she touched. Maryknoll Sisters thank you for sharing Efu with us.

We have accompanied Becky through these days, and we will send our love for you with her in the coming days. May God bless you and console you. Amen.

I welcome Father Phil Mares of Maryknoll Society in Korea, Father Dennis Moorman, of Maryknoll Brazil Mission Unit, who has been a lifelong partner with Efu in ministry and community, and Father Gonzalo Borquez, our Columban brother, who will celebrate mass with us. Thank you.