ASEC News & Reflections

ASEC is serving Catholic Sisters in 10 sub-Saharan 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.

ALL NEWS general sldi hesa service scholarship icb research reflections success beneficiaries current Sister Stories

Now viewing see all news »

Malawian sisters who graduate from ASEC's programs are invited to annual Alumnae and Reflective Learning Workshops. This enables sisters to continue networking and continue their education through presentations and discussions on relevant topics and emerging issues. Pictured: Participants of ASEC Alumnae Workshop in Malawi (February, 2020).

ASEC Forming Effective, Collaborative Agents of Change in Malawi

May 17, 2021: [Malawi] "ASEC programs need to be commended and encouraged," says Rev. Fr. Dr. Alfred Chaima. "We pray that the sponsors continue to invest in these programs."

Highly trusted members of their communities, Catholic sisters are in a unique position of service, especially during times of crisis in Africa, when emergency response is needed.

Bringing Light to the Darkness: Catholic Sisters on the Front Lines in Africa

May 3, 2021: [Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia] Catholic sisters have become a critical component of emergency response among local African communities in crisis.

Clockwise, from top left: Alumnae workshop in Kenya (Feb. 2020). Sr. Victoria Ajio, MSBVM, attending a South Sudan SLDI Finance workshop. Sisters in Cameroon receive laptops during an Administration workshop. Tanzanian sisters receive books at a 2020 Administration workshop.

Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) Program, 2020 Year in Review

Dec 9, 2020: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, SouthSudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, USA] A year in review of the Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) program. Read about milestones, news and experiences from 2020 as SLDI Phase V begins.

In March 2020, sisters participating in ASEC's Scholarship Program in Tanzania gathered for orientation, thanks to our generous donors who sponsor them.

Scholarship Program 2020: A Monumental Year

Dec 9, 2020: [Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia] A year in review of ASEC's Scholarship Program for women religious in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Ghana and Kenya. Read about the program growth, celebrations and achievements as 2020 comes to an end.

Sr. Christabel, an SLDI student in Uganda, works from a tent on her congregation's farm to get the best internet connectivity.

COVID-19 Highlights the Importance of Educating Catholic Sisters

Nov 9, 2020: [Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, USA] Throughout the pandemic, sisters are doing what they always do: they get the job done. Their problem solving skills and resilience are exactly what the world needs right now.

Sisters celebrate the graduation of HESA participants from ASEC partner university, St. Augustine University College (SAUT), in Mwanza, Tanzania (2019).

Sisters Rise to the Top of the Class

Nov 2, 2020: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia] African nuns are reaching major academic achievements while amplifying their influence on some of the biggest challenges facing African society.

Catholic sisters are using their ASEC-sponsored education to provide healthcare and medical services to Africa's poor and vulnerable. Here, Sr. Monica Kissoly, SCC, an SLDI alumna in Tanzania, attends to a newborn baby at a women & children's clinic at Holy Cross Health Centre in Morogoro.

Women Religious are Healing Africa Through Health and Wellness

Sep 7, 2020: [Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia] Catholic sisters are providing much needed health and wellness services throughout Africa.

You can help improve and sustain the vitality of congregations of women religious in Africa by supporting a sister’s ASEC-sponsored education now.

Sisters Sustaining Sisters: Bring Vitality to Communities of Women Religious in Africa

Aug 3, 2020: [Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia] Congregations of Catholic sisters in Africa are being strengthened from within through ASEC programs.

A successful grant proposal by ASEC staff member Sr. Teresa Mulenga, TS, provides members of 5 HIV/AIDS support groups in Malawi with sanitation materials like tap buckets and soap. The members were also taught proper hand-washing techniques to keep them healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catholic Sisters Serve Africa's Most Vulnerable During Global Pandemic

Jul 27, 2020: [Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria] Sisters from ASEC's programs are finding new and innovative ways to serve the poor and vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sr. Hellen digitizes congregational records whenever possible. She also backs up the documents, a skill she learned in ASEC's basic technology workshop.

Improving Congregational Operations and Archives in Malawi

Jul 13, 2020: [Malawi] To avoid the risk of losing important documents, Sr. Hellen used the skills she learned in SLDI to centralize records and create a data archive for her congregation.

Executive Director, Sr. Draru Mary Cecilia, tries her hand at baking bread during a staff site visit to Cabana Sisters' Bread Bakery in Uganda. The Cabana Bakery is run by SLDI and HESA alumna Sr. Maria Teopista Namigga and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix (IHMR) Sisters.

6 Catholic Nuns Building Businesses Across Africa

Apr 6, 2020: [Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda] Entrepreneurial Catholic sisters are building businesses across Africa to meet the needs of the poor and marginalized.

Through the foundation of their education, ASEC and SLDI alumnae consistently provide a stable foundation for the building up of other women and their surrounding communities. Here, SLDI alumna Sr. Judith Mwango, FMDM, is winnowing with local women farmers in Zambia.

Nuns in Africa Spearhead Women's Empowerment Projects

Mar 2, 2020: [Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria] Catholic Sisters in Africa are using education to empower women and work toward gender equality.

Over 90 million (nearly 11%) of the undernourished population are children under five years old.

Catholic Nuns Improve Food Security in Africa

Feb 3, 2020: [Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, SouthSudan, Uganda] In Africa, severe food insecurity and undernourishment is on the rise. But, educated Nuns are changing that reality for the communities they serve.

Sr. Magdalena used her interpersonal relation skills to acquire much needed items for Alinafe Community Hospital in Malawi. She was promoted to her position as Administrator of the hospital after completing ASEC's SLDI program in 2018.

Filling Healthcare Gaps in Malawi

Dec 6, 2019: [Malawi] Sr. Magdalena uses her newfound skills to streamline hospital operations and improve patient care.

11 ASEC-sponsored students graduated from Bigwa Secondary School in Morogoro, Tanzania with their 27 classmates (May 18, 2019).

Scholarship Program, 2019 year in review

Nov 11, 2019: [Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia] A year in review of ASEC's Scholarship Program for women religious in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. Read about the program growth, celebrations and achievements as 2019 comes to an end.

Page 2 of 5 (64 results)