When Sr. Juunza Christabel Mwangani, RSHS, enrolled in ASEC’s Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA) program, she was already serving her congregation and community in a variety of leadership roles. Through HESA, she strengthened the business and management skills needed to expand her impact, earning a Master of Business Administration from Zambia Catholic University in July 2025.
Sr. Juunza serves as senior hospital administrator at Monze Mission Hospital and has held several leadership positions within the Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit (RSHS), including councilor for finances, projects manager, and executive secretary for the Sisters Blended Value Project. Her HESA education has complemented these responsibilities by providing advanced training in leadership, strategic planning, and financial management.
Looking back, Sr. Juunza believes HESA came at exactly the right time in her ministry. She explains, “It came at the time I felt the need to participate in the search for solutions to the real challenges we are facing. My thesis, An Investigation into the Role of Social Entrepreneurship to the Self-Sustainability of the Local Church: A Case Study of Chikuni Mission, helped me link academics with reality.”
Beyond her own studies, Sr. Juunza has remained actively engaged in supporting other ASEC participants. She previously served as the HESA Liaison at the Monze College of Nursing and Midwifery, mentoring and assisting sisters enrolled in the program as they navigated their academic journeys. She also welcomed Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) participants to her ministry site, facilitating educational field visits that connected classroom learning with practical examples of sustainable community development. Further, Sr. Juunza is currently an executive member of the ASEC Alumni Association in Zambia. Through these roles, she has multiplied the impact of ASEC by sharing her knowledge and experience with other Catholic sisters.
One of Sr. Juunza’s most significant contributions has been the growth of the Emerging Farmers Initiative (EFI), which she co-founded with her religious superior, Sr. Rosalia Sakayombo, RSHS, a member of ASEC’s Board of Directors. Established in 2019 at New James Corboy, SJ Secondary School in Zambia’s Monze Diocese, EFI combines environmental stewardship, entrepreneurship, and practical agricultural training to equip young people and smallholder farmers with the skills needed to build sustainable livelihoods.
The EFI initiative includes poultry, swine, egg production, vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, maize fields, and fishponds that serve as hands-on learning environments. In addition to providing agricultural education for secondary school students, EFI offers six-month training programs for young school dropouts and vulnerable families, preparing approximately 30 participants each year with practical farming and business skills. The program has also created local employment opportunities, including positions for EFI graduates and agricultural professionals who help manage the project and mentor participants.
Sr. Juunza’s leadership has received international recognition. In 2022, she received the African Diaspora Network’s Builders of Africa’s Future Award, which enabled EFI to expand its poultry operation, increasing chicken and egg production to meet growing demand while strengthening the initiative’s long-term financial sustainability.
Just months after completing her HESA degree, Sr. Juunza and Sr. Rosalia received the prestigious Opus Prize, an award recognizing faith-driven social innovators who address some of their communities’ most persistent challenges. The Opus Prize is distributed by the Opus Foundation and is one of the world’s largest faith-based humanitarian awards for social entrepreneurship. The award acknowledged years of innovative leadership and the lasting impact of EFI on education, sustainable agriculture, and economic opportunity for young people and families in Zambia.
Sr. Juunza stated, “the HESA program has given me the freedom and confidence to embrace any apostolate without feeling that one ministry is more important or prestigious than another. I am now more open and willing to serve wherever I am needed, with joy and without shame.”
Sr. Juunza’s story reflects how HESA prepares Catholic sisters to strengthen the ministries they already lead. By combining advanced education with a deep commitment to serving their communities, HESA alumni continue to develop sustainable solutions that improve lives and create opportunities for future generations.
Be a Ray of Hope
Communities across Africa are counting on Catholic Sisters, but 48 lack the education needed to carry out their important mission work. You can be a Ray of Hope for a Sister who needs you by donating to her education today.
This article is addressing the following UN Sustainable Development Goal(s):
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