ASEC News & Reflections

ASEC is serving Catholic Sisters in 11 African countries, providing access to educational opportunities. There is much to celebrate regarding the work of ASEC and the impact of Sisters who are benefiting from our programs.

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Members from ASEC US headquarters and faculty from DMI-St. Eugene meet via Zoom to sign partnership agreement.

ASEC signs new partnership with DMI-St. Eugene in Zambia

Feb 22, 2023: [Zambia, USA] DMI-St. Eugene University in Zambia is the first partner university in Africa to have been founded by religious women.

ASEC Sisters teach children how to dance at St. Peter Clavery School in Mikumi, Tanzania

Dance in African Christianity and Culture as Explained by an ASEC Sister

Feb 16, 2023: [Kenya, Zambia, USA] After being with ASEC for a year, I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much about Catholic sisters, African culture, and some of the unique and beautiful traditions of Catholicism in Africa. One thing that I’ve noticed is the power of incorporating dance into graduations, mass and religious celebrations in Africa. I wanted to know more.

Sisters Odette and Cecilia exploring the technology of the phone at an SLDI workshop in Cameroon, 2019.

Using Technology to Strengthen Ministries

Sep 8, 2022: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia] Last spring, the New York Times published an article about how women religious are sharing their experiences through social media platforms, like TikTok. In this article we reflect on the recent trends and explain how our sisters are learning to utilize technology.

ASEC Executive Director, staff, country coordinators and SLDI program participants meet via Zoom to discuss how the program is helping congregations succeed.

SLDI Participants meet with Executive Director, Share the Impact of Computer Technology Workshops

Sep 6, 2022: [Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, USA] ASEC Sisters from Zambia, Tanzania and other countries in Africa have gathered recently for Basic Technology workshops as a part of the SLDI program. Last month they met with ASEC Executive Director Sr. Draru Mary Cecilia to discuss what they learned and why it is important.

COVID-19 Case Study Published in Review of Religious Research

COVID-19 Case Study Published in Review of Religious Research

Apr 22, 2022: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, USA] At ASEC we understood clearly that the pandemic would mean some serious changes for us and our goals. We also understood that COVID-19 may make our pending goals to transform education in Africa even that much more needed. As a research organization, we did what we do – research.

In Nigeria, Sr. Virgilia helps train refugees in income-generating skills

Brave Change: Transforming Communities Takes Courage

Mar 31, 2022: [Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Zambia] We spend a lot of time explaining the changes that come about when ASEC Sisters transform their communities using education, but there’s a specific aspect that makes it all the more special – the bravery it takes to create change at all.

ASEC Staff from Africa and the United States joined for staff training from March 1-4, 2022

Staff Training Focuses on Social Entrepreneurship

Mar 17, 2022: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, USA] “The work you do on a daily basis is strengthening the capacity of the sisters you serve.” - Sr. Draru Mary Cecilia, LSMIG, Ph.D.

ASEC Sisters in 10 different countries of Africa are carrying out community projects to care for their communities and the earth

Caring for Earth, Caring for You: Catholic Sisters Week 2022

Mar 14, 2022: [Malawi, Zambia] Although celebrating the work of Catholic sisters is important every day, for one week each year we have a formal celebration – Catholic Sisters Week.

Photos from Mama Kevina Hope Center for Children with Disabilities in Tanzania, provided by Sr. Swai (pictured left).

8 Ways ASEC Sisters Are Fighting For Social Justice in Africa

Feb 1, 2022: [Cameroon, Kenya, SouthSudan, Uganda, Zambia] Each ASEC Sister brings a unique purpose to their communities as a result of their education and leadership training, empowering them to fight for social justice as exemplified in these eight projects.

Sr. M. Tryphina Burchard, STH, ASEC Country Director (center), with two ASEC scholarship recipients during the 2021 Scholarship program orientation workshop in Tanzania.

Scholarship Program 2021: Bridging the Gap to Higher Education for Sisters in Africa

Nov 1, 2021: [Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia] A year in review of ASEC's Scholarship Program for women religious in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Ghana, Kenya and Lesotho. Read about the program growth, celebrations and achievements as 2021 comes to an end.

HESA best-in-class graduates from Veritas University in Nigeria at the ASEC graduation celebration (2021).

Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA) Program, 2021 Year in Review

Oct 25, 2021: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, USA] A year in review of the Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA) program. Read HESA news, graduation announcements, student achievements and program growth.

Sr. Judith Atukwatse, OLGC, used the skills she learned in SLDI to start a vegetable and poultry project for her community in Uganda.

Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) Program, 2021 Year in Review

Oct 18, 2021: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia] A year in review of the Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) program. Read about milestones, news and experiences from 2021.

Armed with an education and technology training, Catholic sisters are unleashing their creativity across sub-Saharan Africa to implement innovative and creative solutions to real world problems. Pictured above, sisters Odette and Cecilia explore technology on a cell phone.

A Sister’s Seed of Imagination Grows a Field of Hope

Oct 4, 2021: [Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia] Catholic sisters in Africa are using their education to dream up creative human development projects that help their local communities.

In June, 2018, ASEC staff also toured the Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) farm where the sisters grow food and keep animals, like these pigs. An SLDI alumna, Sr. Mary Lilian Baitwakakye, was able to secure funding to begin a dairy farm, which supports both the congregation and the Boni Consilii Girls Vocational Secondary school.

Investing in Africa’s Small Farms Yields Big Outcomes

Sep 6, 2021: [Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia] Catholic sisters in Africa are using crop and animal farming to sustainably support their local communities.

Sisters are using computer and technology skills learned in ASEC's programs to streamline and enhance their service work to the poor and vulnerable across Africa. Pictured are sisters from ASEC's Higher Education from Sisters in Africa (HESA) program in Tanzania, receiving personal laptops to assist them in their studies (2020).

Tech-Savvy Sisters: Catholic Nuns Share How Technology Transforms Their Apostolates

Aug 2, 2021: [Cameroon, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia] How Catholic nuns translate computer and tech skills into enhanced social services for Africa’s poor and vulnerable.

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