Rays of Hope 2019 ASEC Annual Newsletter

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Rays of Hope 2019 Articles

Thank you to our amazing partners, donors and friends (Donations between 10/1/2018 - 8/31/2019)

Appreciation for ASEC Donors in 2019

Thank you to our amazing 2019 supporters! What we do is not possible without you. You are always in our thoughts and prayers.

Sr. Monica, a nurse in Tanzania, cares for the health of the people in her community. Educational programs offered through ASEC gave her the skills to be able to make an impact.

Sisters are answering the call by "Building Bridges"

Imagine the world that we would create if all of us accept to become bridges that would help others cross over to the other side.

Service learning participants and mentors have an unforgettable experience in Ghana.

Volunteering in Ghana: An Unforgettable Experience

Service Learning participant reflects on his volunteering experience at schools and a rehabilitation center in Ghana, West Africa.

Sr. Philomena Aboagye-Danso, FST (center), received an award as the overall best graduating student at the Catholic University College of Ghana, where she studied education.

Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA) program, 2019 year in review

A year in review of the Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA) program. Read HESA news, graduation announcements, student achievements and program growth as HESA Phase II Year 2 comes to a close.

Catholic nuns from Nigeria participate in the SLDI program Basic Technology workshop where they learn computer skills to help them in their ministries.

Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) program, 2019 year in review

A year in review of the Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) program. Read about milestones, news and experiences from 2019 as SLDI Phase IV comes to a close.

Between 2012 and 2018, there has been a 19.5% increase in the number of women religious in the countries ASEC serves.

Number of Nuns on the Rise: Africa's Growing Sisterhood

The sisterhood is growing in Africa and ASEC strives to meet the educational needs of Catholic nuns who are serving Africa's poor and vulnerable.

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

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.

“when we let ourselves be chosen by Jesus, it is to serve: to serve the people of God, to serve the poor, men and women who are outcasts, living on the fringes of society, to serve children and the elderly...Letting ourselves be chosen by Jesus means letting ourselves be chosen to serve, and not to be served.” -Pope Francis

The Link Between Servant Leadership and Higher Education: Women Religious in Sub-Saharan Africa

Does participation in a post-secondary education program transform Kenyan sisters’ understanding of their lives as women religious?

ASEC Executive Director Sr. Draru greets a 9-year-old girl returning from school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They talked about her day at school while they watched the other Sisters sing and dance in the street.

Our Shared Big Dream for Humanity

Chronicling the success stories of African women religious and their service to humanity made possible by their education facilitated by ASEC.

Sr. Margaret Mary Dione Ajebe-Sone, SST, M.Ed. of Cameroon (standing, 2nd from left) visiting with ASEC staff at Marywood University. Sr. Margaret is the fifth Sister scholar accepted for a six month research fellowship with ASEC partner, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University.

5th Visiting Scholar Selected for CARA Research Fellowship

Sr. Margaret Dione Ajebe-Sone, SST, of Cameroon is the fifth Sister scholar accepted for a six month research fellowship to learn applied research skills in the apostolate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University.

Sisters from ASEC programs invite you to take a serious look at what you can do to better care for our environment. Ask yourself what mark you are leaving on the face of Mother Earth. What action can you take to erase that mark?

Unmarking Mother Earth; Sisters Solve Environmental Issues in Africa

Sisters are dedicated to solving the serious environmental issues facing Africa today, leaving the world in better condition than how they received it.

ASEC staff and partners visit to Kikyusa Primary & Secondary schools in Kikyusa, Uganda, run by the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross (MHC).

ASEC Staff Visit Alumnae Projects in Uganda

ASEC staff and partners visit several ASEC alumnae projects in Uganda to learn more about how ASEC programs are helping Sisters in their ministry work and service to the poor and marginalized:

Soon after graduating from ASEC's SLDI program, Sr. Elizabeth Kasanga was promoted to be Assistant Headmistress of the Corradini Pre and Primary School in Morogoro, Tanzania.

Teachers in Africa Battle Educational Poverty

Across Africa, Catholic Sisters battle educational poverty and so much more as they mold the minds of the future generation.

HESA partners from 10 countries traveled to Uganda for the first HESA conference held June 19-23 in Uganda. Here, ASEC Executive Director Sr. Draru Mary Cecilia, LSMIG, Ph.D. (left) joins HESA partners from Cameroon for a photo.

First HESA Partners Conference takes place in Uganda

ASEC held its inaugural HESA Partners Conference June 19-23, 2019, at the Speke Resort Munyonyo and Conference Center in Kampala, Uganda.

Sr. Hellen Bandiho, STH, Ph.D. of Tanzania is the fourth Sister scholar accepted for a six month research fellowship at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University.

4th Visiting Scholar Selected for CARA Research Fellowship

Sr. Hellen Anthony Bandiho, STH, of Tanzania is the fourth Sister scholar accepted for a six month research fellowship to learn applied research skills in the apostolate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University.

Catholic nuns with healing hands and valuable nursing skills are improving healthcare in communities across Africa.

Nursing Education Helping Nuns Improve Healthcare in Africa

Catholic nuns in Africa receive quality education through ASEC, providing them with valuable nursing skills to improve healthcare in their communities.

ASEC Executive Director Sr. Draru Mary Cecilia, LSMIG, Ph.D. of Uganda (left) and ASEC Asst. Director of Development Sr. Nancy Kamau, LSOSF, of Kenya (center) pose with Hon. Kyle J Mullins (right) at ASEC's headquarters, located on Marywood University's campus in Scranton, PA

Representative Kyle J. Mullins visits ASEC, local Scranton nonprofit organization

Rep. Kyle J. Mullins meets with Executive Director of Scranton nonprofit, African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC).

ASEC Advisory Board members with ASEC staff (May 1, 2019).

2019 ASEC Annual Board Meetings take place at Marywood University

May 1-2, 2019: ASEC’s annual Advisory Board and Board of Directors Meetings took place at ASEC USA headquarters located on Marywood University’s campus in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA.

Tara Lopatofsky, Ph.D., CCLS, successfully defends her doctoral dissertation research on March 28, 2019 at Marywood University, Scranton, PA.

Dr. Tara Lopatofsky, Awarded Ph.D. for Research on Catholic Sisters in Kenya

ASEC HESA Evaluator Tara Lopatofsky, Ph.D., CCLS receives Doctorate in Administration and Leadership from Marywood University after successful defense of her research on the impact of post-secondary education on Catholic Sisters in Kenya.

Catholic Sisters aren’t ‘just’ building infrastructure in Africa. They are building hope in communities where hope does not exist.

Sisters Build Hope by Improving Infrastructure in Africa

Catholic Sisters are using their education to build infrastructure in Africa as they work towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9): Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

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2019 Rays of Hope Article References

  1. Excerpt from the Last Will and Testament of Conrad N. Hilton. Retrieved from hiltonfoundation.org.
  2. Hilton, C. (2015). Be My Guest. New York, NY: Touchstone. 270.
  3. See, Holy (2017). Statistical yearbook of the church 2017. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
  4. Ngundo, B. & Wiggins, J. (2017). Women Religious in Africa. Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, Special Report, Summer 2017.
  5. African Sisters Education Collaborative (2017). Sisters Leadership Development Initiative: Phase IV, year I evaluation report (p3).
  6. See, Holy (2017). Statistical yearbook of the church. Libreria Editrice Vaticana (p3).
  7. ASEC Partnerships
  8. SLDI Program Evaluation Outcomes
  9. Francis. (2015, November 26). Meeting with clergy, men and women religious and seminarians address of his holiness Pope Francis.  Retrieved July 25, 2019 from https://m.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/november/documents/papa-francesco_20151126_kenya-religiosi.html
  10. Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as a leader. Cambridge, MA: Center for Applied Studies.
  11. Paris, D.L., & Peachey, J.W. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377-393. doi: 10.1007/s1055101213226
  12. Brubaker, T. A. (2013). Servant leadership, ubuntu, and leader effectiveness in Rwanda. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 6(1), 114-147. Retrieved from https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/elj/vol6iss1/elj-vol6iss1.pdf#page=105
  13. Winston, B. E., & Ryan, B. (2008). Servant leadership as a humane orientation: Using the GLOBE study construct of humane orientation to show that servant leadership is more global than western. International Journal of Research Studies, 3(2), 212-222. Retrieved from https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/ijls/new/ vol3iss2/IJLS_V3Is2_Winston_Ryan.pdf
  14. Dierendonck, D. V. (2010). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228-1261. doi:10.1177/0149206310380462
  15. Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., Dierendonck, D. V., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111-132. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004
  16. Lopatofsky, T. (2019, March). The perceived impact of a post-secondary education program on Kenyan Catholic sisters’ understanding of their lives as women religious: A case study (Doctoral dissertation, Marywood University).
  17. Mudge, J. ASEC Board Meeting Scranton, PA (2019). 2019 ASEC Board Meeting Evaluation Presentation. 
  18. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Smallholders and Family Farmers. 
  19. Education in Africa. UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 9 July 2019.
  20. Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook.