Interim leaders have been elected to steer the affairs of the Catholic Sister Communicators Network, Ghana (CASCON-GH) in West Africa.
The elected Sisters were
Sr. Emmanuella N. Dakurah, HHCJ, President; Sr. Agnes Mercy Mawuvi Nyatsoe, SMMC, Vice President;
Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR, Secretary, Sr. Rebecca Asante, SVI, Financial Secretary;
Sr. Patricia Akoto, FST, Organiser; and Sr. Gifty Anastasia Blewu, SMMC, Public Relations Officer.
The interim leadership of the Network is aimed at better coordinating the activities of the Network, established under a Hilton Foundation project.
The elections were held during a virtual meeting of the Network on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
It was facilitated by Mr. Robert Dela Mawuenyegah of Global NewsWatch Media and Communications, partners to the Network and assisted by Sr. Cecilia Afari, SMMC, Coordinator of the Network and Rev. Fr. Fabian Gbortsu, SMA, a consultant and advisor to the Project.
The Network has a goal to establish visibility of Religious Institutes in Ghana through telling and publicising their own stories.
Sr. Emmanuella Dakurah, the newly elected interim president is a religious teacher and communicator, who is a finally professed member of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus (HHCJ) congregation with 12 years experience as a professed.
She hails from Upper West Region of Ghana, and is
a professional English teacher and a graduate in MPhil in Educational Administration and Management.
Currently, she teaches English in one of the HHCJ private schools at Nsoatre, in the Bono Region of Ghana and doubles as a Sister Communicator for her Congregation in Ghana Province.
Sr. Dakurah has also been recently appointed headmistress of St. Mary’s Preparatory School /JHS, in Sunyani, Bono Region.
The Vice President, Sr. Agnes Mercy Mawuvi Nyatsoe, from the Congregation of Mary Mother of the Church (SMMC) of Ho Diocese, hails from Afife in the Volta Region of Ghana.
She is a First Degree holder in Education from the University of Education, Winneba, as well as a Diploma holder in Basic Education from Akatsi College of Education.
A teacher by profession, Sr. Nyatsoe is currently teaching at OLA R/C Convent Girls Basic School, Keta and also doubles as the Housemistress of OLA Boarding House-Keta.
Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, the elected Secretary is a native of Akum, in the North West Region of Cameroon in Central Africa.
She is a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (MSHR), presently on a mission in Ghana, Donkorkrom specifically.
She holds a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in Curriculum Studies and Teaching (CST/English) from the University of Buea in Cameroon, as well as a participant in a No-Award Undergraduate Course in Spirituality and Religious Formation /Theology at Tangaza University College, Eastern Africa.
Sr. Sylvie is presently the Vocation Directress and Communication Officer for her Congregation in Ghana.
She also works in Holy Rosary School, Donkorkrom, and is the Coordinator of the Department of Social Communication (DEPSOCOM), of the Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate.
The Financial Secretary, Sr. Rebecca Asante, is a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word (SVI), a Diocesan Congregation that was established in the Bono Region of Ghana by the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, the Most Rev. Mathew K. Gyamfi.
She is currently studying Bachelor of Education (Accounting) at the Catholic University of Ghana, Fiapre.
She serves as her Congregation’s Sister Communicator.
On her part, Sr. Patricia Akoto, organiser is a member of the Daughters of the Most Holy Trinity (FST Sisters) in Ghana.
She holds a Bachelor degree in Education (Bed.) with specialty in English, from the Catholic University of Ghana.
Currently, she is a teacher at Holy Name of Jesus School, Abakomadi-Kumasi.
Her desire in the teaching field is motivated by her daily encounter with pupils, being able to help them, and her impact is not limited to academics but one including, humane and spiritual reforms.
Sr. Gifty Anastasia Blewu, SMMC, who is the PRO is a dedicated and passionate individual with a strong commitment to serving God in his Church.
She belongs to the Institute of the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church (SMMC), Ho Diocese.
She is a product of Catholic education and formation at OLA Secondary School, Ho, Akatsi College of Education and Catholic University College of Ghana, Sunyani,Fiapre.
With over 10 years of experience in education and religious service, she has developed expertise in teaching, leadership, and community building, as well as expertise in English Language and Literature -in -English. Sr. Gifty is a team player with excellent communication skills, a strategic thinker, and a proven problem solver, who has developed expertise in curriculum development and spiritual guidance Education.
She currently teaches at OLA Senior High School, her alma mater in Ho in the Language Department and also assists in the communication of activities in her Institute as a Sister Communicator.
CASCON-GH is a product of a media and communication training project organised by the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious-Ghana (CMSR-GH) in collaboration with the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church (SMMC), funded by the Conrad Hilton Foundation.
The Sisters were trained by Global NewsWatch Media and Communications, Ghana, whose objective was to train 20 Sisters from all over the country in media, communication and networking, create a functioning website and register a communication network for women religious Congregations in Ghana.
Religious Congregations that benefitted from the Media and Communication training include Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church (SMMC), Daughters of the Most Holy Trinity (FST), Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer (HDR), Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus (HHCJ), and Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (MSHR).
Others were, Notre Dame de l’Eglise (NDE), Sisters of Mary Immaculate (SMI), Sisters of St Louis (SSL), Sisters of the Incarnate Word (SVI), and the Society of Infant Jesus (SIJ).
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (Sister Communicator)
