Sr. Cecilia Afari, SMMC hails from Ho in the Volta Region and is a dedicated member of the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church (SMMC). She joined the Institute of the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church in 1983, progressing through Postulancy and Novitiate Formation, and making her first profession of vows in September 1985. In 1992, she professed her final vows.

Sr. Cecilia has demonstrated unwavering commitment to her vocation and service. After her first profession, she worked at the Ho Diocesan Catholic Secretariat as the Director of Ho Diocesan Vocational Training Centres for twenty-four years. She played a pivotal role in developing the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Vocational Training Centre at Sovie in the Ho Diocese into a recognized institute, which she successfully handed over to the Ghana Education Service. Additionally, she contributed significantly to the development of a National Policy for Catholic Vocational Training Institutes.

Her extensive experience includes serving on numerous boards, most notably the Presbyterian Vocational Training for Females Board for twenty-one years. She also served as the School Counsellor at Mater Ecclesiae School (MES) in Hohoe for three years.

Academically, Sr. Cecilia holds a B.Ed. in English and an M.Sc. in Organizational Development (OD).

In 2019, Sr. Cecilia was elected as the Vicar General of the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church. In this role, she has contributed in various capacities at the SMMC Generalate.

On behalf of SMMC, in 2023, Sr Cecilia was assigned by her Superior General, the grant holder, with the task of developing the Catholic Sister Communicators project an initiative by the Female branch of the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious Ghana (CMSR-Gh). This 18-month project aims to train and build the capacity of 20 Catholic Sister Communicators to become proficient journalists, enabling them to document and share the works of Religious Sisters in Ghana. The project also seeks to establish a Network for Catholic Sister Communicators and create a website platform for them to tell their stories and evangelize.

Under Sr. Cecilia’s coordination, twenty Catholic Sisters have already been trained in news and feature writing, photography, videography, cinematology, scriptwriting, ethics of journalism, and website management. The project is scheduled to conclude in February 2025.

Sr. Cecilia is known for her hard work and her passion for challenges, continually striving to make a positive impact in her community and beyond.

Father Fabian Gbortsu, SMA, was ordained on July 31, 1999. His first missionary assignment took him to Northern Nigeria from September 1999 to May 2004, where he navigated the complexities of serving in a predominantly Muslim region.

In 2004, Father Gbortsu moved to Nairobi to serve as the Director of Students at the Formation House until 2007.

He then transitioned to the Diocese of Metz in France, where he served from 2007 to 2010 while earning two Master’s degrees in Catholic Moral Theology and Ethics and Human Rights from the University of Strasbourg.

Returning to Nairobi in 2010, Father Gbortsu became the Rector at the SMA House of Formation and began teaching Moral Theology at Tangaza University College (now Tangaza University).

He also commenced his doctoral studies in African Morality at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, achieving First Class honors for his thesis on “The Contribution of African Traditional Moral Education to Uprightness in Ewe Land of Ghana”.

From 2015 to 2021, Father Gbortsu significantly contributed to the Catholic Missionary Institute of Abidjan as the Strategic Director.

He managed projects, ensured quality assurance in teaching and learning, and played a pivotal role in upgrading the Institute to a university.

In 2021, Father Gbortsu joined the University of Education, Winneba, for a year before moving to Cadier en Keer, the Netherlands, in October 2023. His journey of service continues as he serves as a project consultant for various NGOs, conducting project reviews for IFAD and other international organizations in both Francophone and Anglophone regions. He briefly worked with the Conference of Major Superiors Religious, Ghana, as Strategic Director before his current assignment.

Father Gbortsu’s extensive experience and dedication to education, theology, and missionary work underscore his commitment to fostering growth and development within the communities he serves, particularly in Africa and Europe.

Robert Dela Yao Mawuenyegah is a Founding Member of the Lumen Christi Catholic Media Ltd. owners of Lumen Christi TV as the Organiser and Public Relations Officer on the Board. He is an astute Communications, Events and Management Consultant with almost 15 years of professional practice and currently the Executive Director of Global NewsWatch Media and Communications Ltd, managers of a faith-based online news agency Newswatchgh.com as an Editor.

Robert was the Programs Officer for the Department of Social Communications (DEPSOCOM) of the National Catholic Secretariat where he worked closely with the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the various Departments, Directorates and Units within the Secretariat. He was the Communications and Administrative Officer for Ubora Quality Institute, a Pan African not- for Profit Organization incorporated in Ghana with an operational base in Accra and running Quality Improvement Projects with various Ministries of Health and Partners across Africa and beyond (Nigeria, Liberia, Namibia, Ethiopia, Ghana and India)

Mr. Mawuenyegah had provided PR and Media consultancy support to Caritas Ghana, African Institute of Healthcare Quality, Safety & Accreditation (AfIHQSA) and an Analyst at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in areas of Strategic Communications, Events and Media Coordination.
His passion for Development Communications drives the interest in Social Impact activities in Health, Environment, Education and Policy Design and Implementation.

He is an active member of the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA), the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (IPR) and the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners, Ghana (CAMP-G)

Mr. Mawuenyegah is a member of the Knights of St. John International (KSJI) and worships at Ss. Anne & Joachim Parish -Teshie and a Parishioner of St. Anthony Catholic Church, Tegbi in the Keta-Akatsi Diocese.

Damian Dieu Donne Avevor is two time international award-winning Ghanaian journalist in “Excellence in Journalism” from Geneva-based International Christian Organisation of the Media (ICOM).

He has worked with various local and foreign media organizations, both print and electronic since 1998 on full, part time and freelance basis.

He is currently the Director of News and Editorial of Global NewsWatch Media and Communications Ltd. and the Supervising Editor of newswatchgh.com, an online media portal with focus on Religion and Social Development.

He formerly worked with Ghana’s National Catholic weekly newspaper, The Catholic Standard, for 17 years as a reporter (2003-2006), Senior Reporter (2006-2009) and Chief Reporter (2009). In 2010, he was appointed the first ever News Editor of the Paper, a position he served for ten years (2010-2020).

Mr. Avevor has over 400 stories and over 100 feature articles published in the international media including the Catholic News Service and Global Sisters Report, both in America; New People Magazine in Kenya produced by the Comboni Missionaries; Catholic News Agency for Africa (CANAA), Kenya; Catholic Information Service of Africa (CISA) also in Kenya; Vatican Radio and Vatican News, Rome; South World.net, a Web Magazine in United Kingdom produced by the Comboni Missionaries, an international Congregation of the Catholic Church.

Locally, he has over 2,000 published news stories and articles in the print and online to his credit, some which were published in the Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, Public Agenda, ghanaweb.com, modernghana.com.

He also contributes News Commentary to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on topical issues.

He is an alumnus of Bishop Herman College, Kpando; Ghana Institute of Languages, Accra; Ghana Institute of Journalism, Accra; University of Ghana Accra City Campus, International Institute for Journalism, Germany; Institute of Commercial Management (ICM), United Kingdom; Alison E-learning Academy, Galway, Ireland and School of Church Communications of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy.

He is a registered member of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), a registered affiliate member with the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (IPR); an active member of the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners, Ghana (CAMP-G) and a member of the Union of the African Catholic Press (UCAP).

Mr. Avevor is a parishioner of Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church at New Achimota in the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Ghana and St. Joseph Quasi Parish at Alakple in the Keta-Akatsi Diocese of Ghana when he travels to his home town.

He has served on many media Committees of the Church at the National, Arch/Diocesan and Parish levels.