A Christmas Gift Comes Early in Kulmasa, Northern Ghana
Sister Rita Amponsaa-Osuwu reports that on Tuesday, 20th December 2022, the new Sisters’ house in Kulmasa, Northern Ghana, was blessed by the Most Reverend Bishop Peter Paul Yelenzuome Angkyier of Damongo Diocese. It was a very happy occasion attended by Medical Mission Sisters, priests and religious, parishioners, friends and co-workers.
Until this happy day, the Sisters, who have been pioneering MMS' new integrated healthcare mission in Kulmasa, had been living in the old catechist house which had been renovated for this purpose by the parish with support from the Bishop. The Sisters took up residence here after they first arrived in Kulmasa on 1st October 2020. They called it their “temporary accommodation” because they knew that the building was too small to accommodate any increase in the number of Medical Mission Sisters. This was exactly the case after the community grew from two Sisters in 2020 to four Sisters and a postulant by 2022. One Sister had been obliged to live at the sacristy of the old church. However, this temporary accommodation offered the Sisters a great opportunity to integrate with the local people because it was situated right in the middle of one settlement in Kulmasa.
The new community house, which has room to accommodate postulants, has been built with sustainability and ‘eco-friendliness’ as key inputs in the design concept - for example, it is solar-powered and has two underground water tanks to store rainwater during the few months of rains.
As the Sisters mark two years of presence in Kulmasa, they celebrate, not only the blessing of the new community building, which came as an early Christmas gift, but also how the mission itself has evolved over the past two years. The public health project, eco-farm and women’s empowerment project that the sisters began at different stages are all ongoing and growing from strength to strength.
The Sisters are very thankful to the many partners and donors who have made this house a reality for them. For its construction, they would particularly like to thank: the Archdiocese of Cologne; the Diocese of Münster; the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart; MISSIO Aachen; Church in Need; MISSIO Vienna; MISSIO Munich; and Stichting Vrienden Medische Missiezusters in The Netherlands.
In their own words, it means: “We can now receive more Sisters and have space for our postulancy and for accommodating Sisters from our international congregation at all stages of their formation - not to mention having plenty of room to welcome our many partners and guests who so generously participate in our life and mission in one way or the other.”
With our deep gratitude to all who made this construction possible.