Ghana Papers

In this letter Mother Joachim Forster describes all that has happened in the Cape Coast school, college and convent since the arrival of the three sisters in February. Handling everything from a lack of light, water or cleaning supplies or enough desks, to children arriving in the middle of the night to ensure they had a place at the school and visits from priests, nuns, contractors and local gentlemen of note, the school was still opened with 120 pupils. M.M. Joachim writes gratefully of the 'very helpful' teachers and 'old students as good as gold'. 

This newsletter comes from a date that marks an interesting time both for the SHCJ ministries in Ghana, as they begin to expand, and the Catholic Community as a whole in the wake of Vatican II. Firstly, the sisters describe a trip to Northern Ghana with staff from the school, eventually ending at the University at Kumasi where they made their annual retreat. Secondly, they give news of the school's building works and the various activities taken on by sisters, staff and students including visiting the homes of the poor in villages nearby and distributing medicine. When the community has any spare time, they go swimming at Elmina beach!

In his sermon celebrating 25 years of the Holy Child School at Cape Coast, Fr V.D. Plas not only remarks on the school's beautiful surroundings, but also states 'how much more beautiful are the people, taught and trained and moulded here, who leave this school to go into to the world to spread the good news, herald peace and bring happiness'.