The sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame and associates in Cameroon
EXTRACTS
The Pionneers
The African adventure of the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame of Montréal began on September 1, 1970, with the arrival of the first daughters of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys to set foot on Cameroonian soil: Sisters Fernande Dubé, Jeanne Beaudoin, Colette Ouellet, Solange Monfet, Yvonne Lamonde and Françoise Baril. They first settled in Eséka and Makak.
Taking Root and Expanding
The idea was to send a team to teach the students in grades 10, 11 and 12. In Makak, the boys received a very good education, provided by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, also Canadian, but there were very few girls there and nothing in place to welcome them. Makak was a small village and only a few girls came to the college. Very often, at that time, girls got married as soon as they obtained their general certificate of secondary education.
In Eséka, at Collège Marie-Albert, there were many girls, approximately 300 in junior high school.
Every week, for five consecutive years, Sisters Yvonne Lamonde and Françoise Baril shuttled between Makak and Eséka to teach from Monday to Friday.
Second Foundation: Ebolowa
In September 1972, three sisters arrived from Canada for this mission at Collège Bonneau: Sister Marcelle Neiderer, a French teacher who later became an educational counsellor for the first cycle at Collège Bonneau; Sister Réjeanne Robitaille, community superior and math teacher in the second cycle; and Sister Solange D’Amboise for pastoral and advancement of women.
Most of the students at Collège Bonneau were Catholic in an essentially protestant environment.
Foundation in Otélé
In Otélé, located 33 kilometres from Makak, the Canadian Fathers of the Holy Apostles had a seminary for late vocations. Four sisters were sent there: Sisters Jeanne Ponton, Bernadette Gervais, Nicole Pronovost and Imelda Auger.
Foundation in Douvangar
Upon an invitation to teach math classes at Collège Mazenod de Ngaoundéré in July 1974 (they had a different school year in the northern part of the country), Sister Solange Monfet was able to visit the missions of the Oblates in the Far North. At the following Regional Chapter, it was decided to propose to the General Council to found a new mission in Douvangar.
In September 1979, Sister Solange was sent there in the company of Sister Louise Hébert and two other sisters who had come from Canada: Sister Gilberte Bussière and Sister Émilie Maddix. Their main mission was to establish a teacher training college.
From Douvangar, the Congregation opened a boarding school for girls in Méri in 1991. The sisters were happy because it was another place to foster the education of girls. Sister Solange, Sister Jacqueline Dufour and Sister Gertrude Babineau succeeded one another there.
In 1979, the sisters began going to Douroum and to Wazan, villages of the Douvangar parish. Sisters Gilberte Bussière, Émilie Maddix, Monique Gilbert and Louise Hébert all worked there teaching reading and writing and providing training for women.
Sister Gertrude Babineau and Sister Gisèle Bourque were named to new missions; this necessitated a great deal of walking and exploring. Thus, from Douvangar, they went to Tchéré. It began as a travelling mission. Sister Gisèle would go in the morning and return in the evening. The Tchéré community was officially founded in 1996. From there, the sisters reached out to the neighbouring villages, while Sister Gertrude Babineau turned instead towards Méri.
Openig of the Tchéré Mission
When the Tchéré mission opened, Sister Gisèle Bourque and Sister Juliette Forest lived in Tchakidjébé and, when their house was ready, they moved in along with Sister Gilberte Bussière. Later, Sister Simone Vigneau joined them. On September 19, 1997, the pre-novitiate opened in Tchéré.
The main objective in this milieu of first evangelization was the formation of Christian communities. To do so, in addition to making many visits to the small villages, it was necessary to have adapted catechesis, training for women, literacy and the formation of catechists.
Sister Émilie Maddix was travelling back and forth between the Maroua-Mokolo and Yagoua dioceses where she was director of the catechesis programs of the elementary schools. She created an initiation program for the children of the mainly animist families. For a while, she also taught at the Grand Seminary of Maroua.
The Congregation was in the Douvangar parish from 1979 to November 2016 when it was forced to officially close the mission due to growing insecurity in the region caused by the presence of a terrorist group from neighbouring Nigeria.
Presence of the Sisters in Yaoundé: the Cenacle
In Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, the Spiritan Fathers had a house of prayer: The Cenacle. It was a place for meditation and spiritual renewal. They needed assistance and, in 1992, Sister Marilyn von Zuben and Sister Yvette Dubois collaborated in it.
Foundation in Kumbo
In 1993, the work of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame extended to Kumbo, in North-West Cameroon, under the direction of Sisters Cécile Buote and Noreen MacDonald.
Until November 2016, the year that the region plunged into a painful sociopolitical crisis, they carried out a variety of functions all over the diocese. Sister Noreen taught English at a secondary school establishment of the diocese. She also acted as bursar, librarian and educational adviser to teachers, students and even parents. At the request of Bishop NKUO George, she went to Ngarum, 34 km from Kumbo, where other Cameroonian sisters of the Congregation followed her: Sisters MINKOUÉ NZIÉ Marthe Falie, DAÏDOUWÉ Jeannette, KONAÏ Justine and MATCHUENDEM Augustine. They still devote themselves today to teaching, facilitating youth movements and vocational groups, acting as bursar and boarding school teachers, and even provided liturgical services in remote parishes where no priests are available!
As for Sister Louise Finn, she served at the Minor Seminary of the diocese as bursar, vice-rector, English teacher, Latin teacher, to name but a few.
Sister Marilyn and Sister Cécile dedicated themselves to pastoral ministry, with groups of single women and in spiritual retreats.
Sister Cécile also dedicated herself to the apostolate of family life, preparing couples for Christian marriage and giving formation in the different aspects of family life.
In 2001, Sister Catherine Molloy arrived in Kumbo to provide reinforcement. Thanks to the donations of many benefactors, she was able to set up a beautiful children’s library for the primary school students.
In August 2007, the community welcomed Sister Susan Kidd. She was appointed to teach moral education in high schools, as well as to be responsible for youth ministry and vocation promotion in the vast diocese. Much to the regret of her companions, she returned to Canada in 2009.
Over the years, Kumbo would also benefit from the help of Sisters Marilyn Hammill, Mary Anne Foley, Mary Ann Rossi, Nina Glinski, Eileen Good and Dolores McKinney. The latter even carried out the mission in one of the houses of the Congregation in the Far North of the country.
Foundation of the Novitiate in Ngaoundéré
The novitiate in Ngaoundéré opened on August 28, 1998, under the direction of Sisters Yvette Dubois and Solange Monfet. In addition to the activities related to the formation of future religious and to living together, the sisters also carried out other functions.
Sister Yvette gave music and music theory lessons to religious and future priests, in addition to actively participating in Ignatian retreats providing facilitation and accompaniment.
Sister Solange also taught catechesis. She taught psychology and Bible classes at the propaedeutic seminary. She was responsible for the direction of the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL) which constituted a key element in the discernment of these young men who wanted to enter the Major Seminary.
Sister KONAÏ Justine taught for two years at Collège Mazenod. She also gave catechesis classes.
Sister MENGUE Évangéline taught at the Collège after working at the social centre in Maza.
In addition to giving Bible classes to the novices, Sister Gisèle Provost was in charge of the bursar’s office and the bookkeeping in the house. She provided tutoring for impoverished children in need of help.
Sister MINKADA Brigitte taught at Collège Mazenod, but her main mission there was pastoral ministry. This included organizing liturgies, sacraments, religious feast days, etc.
The Regional House in Yaoundé
On September 25, 2004 a section of the regional house, the construction of which was supervised by Sister Thelma Renaud, welcomed its first residents: Sister Thelma Renaud, Sister Yvette Dubois, Regional Leader, and Sister MBOUGOUM Sophie Christine, a philosophy student at Catholic University of Central Africa.
Foundation in Meyomessala
The mission of Meyomessala opened in 2014 with a kindergarten and an elementary school. Msgr. ZOA Christophe was asking for teaching sisters and proposed a plot of land in Meyomessala where a school could be built. There was a plantation available to the sisters for some income and a four-bedroom house where they could live until they had their own residence.
A team of three sisters was named to this mission:
- Sister MENGUE Évangéline, as community leader. She put her talents to work for the community and knew how to cultivate and make the plantation bear fruit;
- Sister MINKADA Brigitte, for pastoral activities;
- Sister KONAÏ Justine, for the construction of the kindergarten.
Since then, Sister SIMO FOTSO Estelle, its first principal, helped make it flourish. In 2020, it welcomed students from the Language Initiation Section (SIL) to Grade 4.
Return to Tchéré
In September 2018, the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame were able to return to Tchéré. Sister MBALLA Annie, Community Leader, Sister MEKOUANGA Bernadette and Sister SOMIRLA Regina taught at Collège Jacques De Bernon in Maroua and did pastoral work in the Christian communities.
Apostolic Activities
Training for Women
The sisters took on the challenge of providing women with training in social, family, intellectual and Christian life so that they could take their place in society and share in the responsibilities of the various sectors of life. To do so, they will use different methods, namely: boarding schools for young girls, literacy, training centres, women groups, etc.
The "Pentagon"
The "Pentagon" was the first boarding school for young girls that they took charge of.
The Boarding School of Collège de Ngarum
Collège de Ngarum was in a rural area. It had two boarding schools, one for boys and one for girls. For a few years, the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame were in charge of the boarding school for girls, namely Sisters MINKOUÉ Marthe Falie and DAÏDOUWÉ Jeannette. At that time, Sister Noreen MacDonald was in charge of the bursar’s office and the buildings.
Later, Sister MATCHUENDEM Augustine took over and Sister KONAÏ Justine became bursar. When schools closed due to the sociopolitical situation, they devoted themselves to pastoral work and to accompanying women. They later left this part of the country for security reasons.
The Saré de Méri
The Saré is a special kind of boarding school for young girls. Sister Jeanne Beaudoin describes it as follows: “A saré (group of huts) was built for a few girls at the secondary school who are far from their village… two sisters take turns supervising them. The girls share the responsibility of preparing simple meals. This type of boarding school is a bit different from the one at the "Pentagon" in Makak, but the objective is the same: help the girl prepare for her future by having her assume her present responsibilities in a shared environment of peace, joy and harmony. The integral formation of the girl is only ensured if the teachings are in keeping with her activities. Therefore, the sisters find time to give sewing, knitting and even cooking lessons. "
Literacy Education
This activity was developed especially in the north of the country where schooling was lagging behind. The idea was to train monitors and to send them through the villages to teach adult men and women the basics of French and arithmetic, in order to liberate them through knowledge and thus improve their situation.
Marguerite-Bourgeoys Centre
This important work was to the service of the rural women of the southern part of the country in Ebolowa. The Centre saw the light of day in 1991 at the instigation of Sister Colette Ouellet. Her mission was to see to the spiritual and human formation of women. The teachings were given simultaneously by Cameroonian women as well as by the sisters in areas as varied as health and religious training, social and human formation, training in home economics, socio-economic activities (dyes, soaps, creams) and income-generating revenues (vegetable gardens, cooperatives, community gardens).
The House for Women in Méri, in the Far North
In 1992, Sister Gertrude Babineau was responsible for the training of women in the Douvangar Parish. The Canadian Ambassador to Cameroon offered to finance a project for the advancement of women and provided funds for the construction of a house with a room, a kitchen, a storeroom and a straw-roofed kiosk to cope with the harsh climate. There, Sister Gertrude brought women together to reflect on topics related to personal development and family life and accompanied them during literacy classes. Still today, the women use these rooms to make soaps, creams, fruit juices, jams, soya milk, doughnuts, and more. The choir activities and assorted meetings that continue to be held there enable the women to come together and share.
Accompanying Women in Makak
Sister Réjeanne Therrien invested time and energy to reach the local women. She started by visiting the neighbourhoods to meet with mothers who were at home with their out-of-school children and find out what these women wanted and needed. Then she organised collective kitchens where women shared their provisions and skills. Elsewhere, it was sometimes an introduction to small business, sewing, etc. Sister Réjeanne also welcomed groups of women to the sisters’ residence to share ideas and hold meetings such as the one for the March 8 celebration of the International Women’s Day.
The Formation of Youth
The Colleges
The sisters were particularly dedicated to the colleges: Collège Marie-Albert in Eséka, Collège Sacré-Coeur in Makak, Collège Bonneau in Ebolowa, Collège Jacques de Bernon in Maroua, Collège Mazenod in Ngaoundéré, not forgetting St. Peter’s Catholic Comprehensive College in Kumbo and St. John Bosco Catholic Comprehensive College in Ngarum.
Collège Jacques de Bernon in Maroua welcomed Sister MBOUGOUM Sophie after her studies in philosophy and theology at Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé. For eight years Sister Sophie taught a range of subjects there including philosophy, computer science, culture and values, and religious sciences, adapted to this milieu where there were both Muslims and Christians, without forgetting animists and sect followers. Sister SOMIRLA Regina now teaches in the English section.
The Seminaries
The sisters also played an important role in the formation of future priests. They carried out this role in Otélé, where they worked closely with the Fathers of the Holy Apostles who ran a seminary for seniors, and in Douvangar where, as mentioned earlier, a seminary for late vocations opened in 1980. Following the example of Sister Monique Daigle, sisters taught courses at John XXIII Seminary in Ebolowa. Sister Gisèle Mathieu gave philosophy courses and Sister Yvette Dubois taught music at the MUKASSA NKOLBISSON Institute in Yaoundé. Finally, there was the diocesan minor seminary of Kumbo which benefited for a long time from the services of Sister Louise Finn.
The Primary Schools
The sisters worked primarily in the Catholic schools of the Maroua-Mokolo and Yagoua dioceses. They carried out activities as varied as catechesis, pedagogical animation, and even, and above all, school management. That was the case of Sister Gilberte Bussière and Sister Yolande Tellier, who served as pedagogical advisor and education delegate at the Secretariat for Education of Maroua. Later, Sisters MBALLA Annie, NGO NGOK Angèle and SIMO FOTSO Estelle took on an important role at the primary school in Tchéré by assuming the direction of this establishment.
The Sainte-Marguerite-Bourgeoys Catholic Private School in Méri
In 2006, the sisters saw the opening of École primaire Sainte-Marguerite-Bourgeoys in the centre of Méri. In 2020, 930 students were enrolled in this private, full-cycle Catholic school funded by the Canadian Embassy.
Complexe scolaire bilingue Sainte-Marguerite-Bourgeoys in Meyomessala
This complex, a work of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, includes a kindergarten with the three sections and a primary school; the children are taught English for half a day and then French the other half. This is proving successful: in December, at the Christmas tree party, toddlers performed skits and recited in both languages.
The teaching personnel is composed of sisters and women from the South and North-West, under the direction, in 2020, of Sister MBLAMA Rosine. Sister MATCHUENDEM Augustine also does very good work at the school.
Involvement in Health Care
From 1986 to 1990, Sister Fernande Blais, a nurse, put her talents and experience at the service of the students of Collège Sacré-Coeur in Makak. The large number of boarders, girls and boys, required a vigilant presence to diagnose and treat such things as malaria attacks, colds and stomach aches, in addition to minor injuries sustained during sports.
After studying at the Catholic School of Health Sciences in Shisong, in the North-West region of Cameroon, Sister NGO NKEN Agnès, first Cameroonian nurse of the Congregation, began her professional life at Centre Hospitalier Nicolas Barré. Since August 2019, Sister Agnès has been head supervisor at Centre Hospitalier Mère-Enfant Deo Gratias, in Oliga (Yaoundé). Her objective, like that of this hospital, is the promotion of health for all and equality of care for all. Another sister, MEKOULOU Lucie, shares this ideal and puts all her energy into it, as she has been appointed bursar of this health centre.
Christian Formation
Another field of activity in which the sisters have been strongly invested since their arrival is Christian formation: the preparation of sacraments for people of all ages; preparation for Christian marriages; formation and accompaniment of catechists.
In the Parish
Parish activities were always a priority. The sisters give formation to the catechists and village community leaders, provide pastoral care in all its forms, supervise the various groups involved in spiritual life, organize religious services, etc.
Vacational Awakening
By means of leaflets, meetings for reflection and discussion, vocation and recollection camps, the sisters succeeded in getting young people of both sexes to pray together and to reflect on their vocation as Christians, because what was important was to have successors in the Church of Cameroon.
The Associates
In 1990, the Associate Relationship of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame began in Cameroon at Collège Sacré-Coeur in Makak where, after hearing the sisters talking about the Associate Relationship of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, a young couple, MANI François and his wife Suzanne, became interested in it and began the journeying process with the liaison Sister Marthe Thériault.
Today, the Associate Relationship of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame in Cameroon has 58 associates and 7 persons in the journeying process. They are in Ebolowa, Douvangar, Yaoundé, Ngaoundéré, Mbalmayo and Kumbo.
These associates of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame of Notre-Dame-des-Apôtres Region are involved in different sectors of activity in their families, their neighbourhoods, their socioprofessional milieus, the parish, in short, in pretty much all areas of their lives. Social actors and witnesses of their time, associates are working together in and around their homes.
The Social Works
Social and charitable actions are at the heart of most of the sisters’ activities. Here are a few examples:
The Bakery
Sister Pierrette Simard, principal of Collège Sacré-Cœur, having noticed how difficult it was to obtain bread for the boarders (about 600 young teenagers), developed and implemented a project to build a bakery at the college. For years, the boarders and the people of the village were able to benefit from this fresh daily bread.
The Orphans
Through small projects, the sisters give orphans the opportunity to earn money to pay for their schooling and school supplies. The focus is on those in areas of great poverty: Douroum, Douvangar and Wazan in the Far North of the country. Scholarships are given to young people from all milieus and at all educational levels, from kindergarten to the doctorate.
The Lepers
The lepers from Ebolowa and Eséka benfitied most from the attention of the sisters. Those from Eséka, for example, benefited from the construction of 25 homes by the members of the Jeunes du Monde movement of Collège Sacré-Coeur in Makak, under the supervision of Sisters Louise Hébert, Solange Monfet and Cécile Buote, who came to see them the weeks they were working in Mayabat.
The Prisoners
The help they received is multifaceted; it ranges from simple visits to Sunday meetings during which the Word of God was shared, to steps taken by the Justice and Peace team headed by a sister Yolande Tellier. These steps involved digging up the defendants’ files (especially those of women and minors) and having the procedures initiated. Thanks to these actions, some prisoners who had been locked up for one or two years without trial, could finally go on trial.
For a few years, Sister Solange Monfet provided human and Christian formation to help prepare the prisoners for their return to normal life.
The Role of Respondents
In Kumbo, sisters served as dedicated respondents for out-of-school or disabled children with international organisations, namely:
- Child Care International
This organisation provides education-based sponsorship for children in need. Today, approximately 2,000 children from different parts of Kumbo are benefiting from her work.
- The Liliane Foundation
This organisation supports youngsters with disabilities, without removing them from their family circle. Once identified, their needs (health care, rehabilitation, etc.) are taken care of by the organisation.
Drinking Water
- Drinking Water in Douvangar
On their arrival in the Far North of the country, the sisters were confronted with the water shortage. With the help of Cardinal Léger and his works, the Canadian Embassy and at the instigation of the sisters, mechanisms were set in motion and drilling began. Soon, water began gushing out of the ground to the amazement and cheers of the inhabitants. Five other drilling sites were also a success.
- OK Clean Water Project
Thanks to Sister Catherine Molloy, the OK Clean Water Project was implemented in Kumbo. This partnership project between a mission group of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame in Ottawa and the people of Kumbo helped put an end to the plight of the region’s inhabitants for whom water was an extremely rare commodity. Today, some 50 villages, schools and health centres have drinking water, and designated staff have been trained to maintain the pipes in each of the beneficiary villages.
Justice and Peace
Sister Yolande Tellier would go from office to office to meet various authorities, pacing the corridors of the central prison. She knew that was the only way to move files forward and for prisoners, a vulnerable group in our society, to benefit from certain services to which they were entitled.
That is the price to be paid to obtain certain documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, national identity cards). This remains one of the major works of the Congregation.
For the past five years, in the Kumbo diocese, Sister MEKOULOU Lucie has worked relentlessly in Justice and Peace towards these same goals, and more. She broadened the range of actions to take for the preservation of the rights of widows and children, who are generally dispossessed when the head of the family dies. Domestic quarrels over such matters as land disputes, inheritances and even tensions between spouses are often resolved thanks to the intervention of Justice and Peace. The coexistence between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers has often come to a favourable conclusion thanks to sustainable solutions regarding the demarcation of land for herding and agriculture proposed by Justice and Peace and accepted by both parties. But Sister Lucie's main field of action has undoubtedly been the fight against the trafficking of women. It is not easy to tear away from the hands of dangerous pimps the young Cameroonian women who were lured to certain Arab countries by the mirage of petrodollars, only to find themselves caught in the nets of these lawless traffickers.
Today, Sister MEKOULOU Lucie has passed the torch to Sister MINKOUÉ Marthe Falie.
The Succession
At a regional assembly held in March 1996, there was a deep spiritual discernment during which it was concluded that the majority of the sisters wanted to open the Congregation to African sisters. Each sister in the region had expressed how she felt able to support this project. More and more serious efforts were being made for vocation ministry in all the houses of the region. Each year, several girls from different parts of the country came together for a four or five-day vocation camp that was led by the sisters and a few associates.
The Pre-Novitiate
The regional council decided to open a pre-novitiate in Tchéré and put Sister Simone Vigneau in charge, even if the other members of the community would also be involved in formation. Its doors opened in September 1997 with four candidates.
In 2005 a pre-novitiate opened in Kumbo under the direction of Sister Cécile Buote. As it was situated in an English-speaking zone, it enabled our young French-speaking sisters to acquire good knowledge of the English language and of the local culture. The most recent candidates began their formation in Yaoundé and in Tchéré due to security issues in the North-West region.
The Novitiate
On August 28, 1998, in Ngaoundéré, the official opening of the novitiate took place during a beautiful Celebration of the Word. Ngaoundéré had been chosen for its nice climate and its geographical location between the North and the South, but also because of the presence of other novitiates with which we could collaborate.
The novitiate has two stages. The first is the canonical year during which the novice receives theological and spiritual formation. It includes a time for personal prayer and reflection to help the novice discern and choose to give herself to the Lord according to the requirements of the Congregation. Time for manual work, a weekly apostolic activity and community recreation help provide a more balanced life. The second year is a time to prepare and to live the stages in an apostolic community, to take stock of this experience, and finally, to prepare both spiritually and materially for first profession.
On September 2, 2000, MBALLA NNANG Hélène Annie and MMOLO Simone made profession in the Congrégation de Notre-Dame. They were the jubilee sisters. Two days prior to this first profession, Sister MBOUGOUM Sophie Christine entered the novitiate. Since then, the different generations have succeeded one another. Sister Émilie Maddix was the second mistress of novices and she helped prepare seven young women for first profession.
The novitiate community of Ngaoundéré is still welcoming and providing formation for young women year after year.
Final Commitment
On August 16, 2009, Sister MBALLA NNANG Hélène Annie became the first Cameroonian sister to make final commitment in the Congregation. The ceremony was held at Saint-Esprit Church and presided over by Mgr MBARGA Jean, Bishop of Ebolowa. Sister Josephine Badali, our Congregation Leader, travelled from Montréal to receive Annie’s vows.
On August 7, 2010, Sister MBOUGOUM Sophie Christine pronounced her perpetual vows. A special cloth was printed to mark the two events because it was also the 40th anniversary of the arrival of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame in Cameroon.
On January 4, 2014, two other companions committed themselves definitively to the Congregation: Sisters NGO NGOK Angèle and MENGUE Évangéline.
On May 21, 2016, Sisters KONAÏ Justine and MINKADA ONANA Brigitte celebrated their definitive commitment to the Congrégation de Notre-Dame with friends, family and sisters of the Congregation. This time the celebration took place in Meyomessala at Holy Trinity parish church and in the rooms of the new kindergarten.