2024 included several milestones for the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC):
- The year 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the foundation of ASEC (1999-2024), celebrated under the theme, “Igniting Hope, Building Bridges, Creating Impact.”
- On December 7, 2024, ASEC will hold a gala to pay special tribute to its founders who are fondly referred to as ASEC’s Founding Mothers—Sr. Anne Munley, IHM, PhD; Sr. Kathryn Miller, SSJ, PhD; Sr. Marcia Sichol, SHCJ, PhD; Sr. Carol Jean Vale, SSJ, PhD; Sr. Mary Reap, IHM, PhD; Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF; and Sr. Anita Cattafesta, OSF.
- Three of the Founding Mothers will receive the first Founding Mothers Award at the gala, namely—Sr. Anne Munley, IHM, PhD, Sr. Carol Jean Vale, SSJ, PhD, and Sr. Mary Reap, IHM, PhD.
ASEC is deeply aware that it is God who ignites the light of hope, allows the bridges to stand strong in a storm, and causes the planted seeds to grow to full harvest (1st Cor 3:6-9).
The jubilee year of 2024 honors ASEC’s Founding Mothers and their collaborators for their courage to dream big with limited resources, but with generous hearts of love, faith, hope, and trust in God. These women religious drew strength from developing meaningful partnerships including with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which has been the “wind beneath the wings” of ASEC since 2007, the associations of women religious, and the university partners in Africa. Over the last 25 years, it is these partnerships that provided the fertile ground for ASEC to take root and grow exponentially across 11 African countries—Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and most recently Zimbabwe.
The 2024 Rays of Hope and 25th anniversary theme invites us all to:
Ignite Hope
By providing leadership that intentionally dreamt big, ASEC’s founders fanned into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 1:6) in each beneficiary, building the skills and competence most needed by the Catholic sisters in Africa. Already over 10,500 of these sisters are actively igniting hope through service to humanity, especially to people living in the margins of society in Africa and globally.
Build Bridges
The Founding Mothers of ASEC in their wisdom and experience chose the path of collaboration and partnership to generate vital connections, networks, and access for ASEC to deliver educational programs for Catholic sisters in Africa. Cognizant of the sisters’ individual talents and abilities, the Founding Mothers, with love, generosity, and deep trust in God, invested time and resources in relationships as the foundation stones that would sustain ASEC’s mission. ASEC at 25 is a celebration of collaboration and partnership par excellence.
Create Impact
The enduring mission of ASEC is to strengthen the capacity of Catholic sisters in Africa so as to build a formidable team of “servant leaders.” These leaders are actively serving humanity to develop their full human potential and live their lives with dignity as children of God. Since 2007, ASEC’s women religious alumnae have transformed more than seven million lives through their ministries. Today, these individuals have a reason to hope, to smile, to celebrate the fruits of the transformation, not only in their individual lives, but also in their societies, both locally and globally.
In this 25th anniversary year, will you “ignite hope, build bridges, and create impact” by allowing the dream of ASEC’s Founding Mothers to live on and support the education of Catholic sisters in Africa?
