African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC) renewed its existing partnership with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Kenya to continue educating Catholic sisters in Africa for another four years.
On Tuesday, January 16, ASEC signed a framework of reference (FOR) with CUEA to renew their commitment to help Catholic sisters get the education and credentials they need to carry out their important work.
Assistant Director of Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA), Rosemary Shaver, as well as CUEA Vice Chancellor Professor Justus Mbae, Ph.D. and Dr. Ann Rita Njageh, Office of Acdemic Linkages and HESA liaison at CUEA, signed the contract in the presence of representatives from their respective organizations. ASEC Executive Director, Sr. Draru Mary Cecilia, LSMIG, Ph.D., signed the agreement when ASEC staff returned to the U.S.
Sisters from East Africa, attending institutions of higher education in Nairobi, Kenya because of ASEC's HESA program also joined ASEC and CUEA representatives for the event.
ASEC partnered with CUEA to implement the HESA program back in 2014 to support religious sisters in the region in their pursuit for higher education.
ASEC Assistant Director of Evaluation, Jennifer Mudge, encouraged the religious sisters in attendance to pursue and finish their education in order to serve their communities.
“Open your mind and heart towards education and value what you do, for this will empower you to be better servants in the communities,” said Mudge.
ASEC representatives make annual visits to alumnae of HESA programs to witness the sisters’ achievements following the completion of their educations.
ASEC Director for East and Central Africa, Sr. Lina Wanjiku, reflected on her interactions with two ASEC alumnae from the Franciscan Sisters of Sr. Anna (FSSA) congregation, Sr. Consolata Aloo, an alumni of the HESA program, and Sr. Jecinter Atieno, a Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) alumni and current HESA student. Sr. Lina expressed that the skills Sr. Consolata acquired through HESA, like grant writing for resource mobilization, have enabled her to solicit a significant amount of money for her congregation.
Additionally, Sr. Jecinter will be able to bring awareness to her congregation after she completes the HESA program at Tangaza University College, another partner institution of ASEC, where she studies social communication.
ASEC has aided in educating over 5,300 religious sisters like Sr. Consolata and Sr. Jecinter and has existing programs in 10 African countries.
