Provincial Council

Provincial Council Installed August 28, 2019

Left to right: Sisters Dawida Krzempek, Oyin-oza Asishana and Antoinette Cornelius.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame Province of Africa installed a new provincial council on August 28, 2019, the Feast of St. Augustine.

Sisters from Ghana and Assembly delegates from The Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone attended the installation ceremony at the Provincial House in Accra, Ghana. Father Raymond Tangonyire, SJ, presided at the Eucharistic celebration.

Sister Oyin-oza Asishana was installed as the Provincial Leader, and Sisters Dawida Krzempek and Antoinette Cornelius were installed as the Provincial Councilors.

Sister Oyin-oza Asishana

Sister Oyin-oza  was born in Nigeria, West Africa. She entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 2001, made her first profession in 2005 and perpetual profession in 2012. Sister Oyin-oza earned a B.S. degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.

She served as the bursar for Notre Dame Girls’ Secondary School as well as Area Bursar for Nigeria from 2005 – 2011. She also served as Provincial Treasurer in Ghana from 2011 -2019, and through this ministry, Sister Oyin-oza assisted leadership and members with the call to management of our province resources. Stewardship for Sister Oyin-oza is eucharistic, as we strive daily to share our meager resources with one another and all to whom we minister. “My role as a treasurer called me to relate to something deeper, such that all I do and how I do it could foster greater unity and a deeper sense of wholeness in me and all around me. Indeed, it is a ministry of relationships and interconnectedness.” Sister Oyin-oza was also a delegate for District Assembly and, later on, Provincial Assembly. Presently, she is one of the Facilitators of the Sisters Leadership Development Initiative in Africa (SLDI).

Sister Oyin-oza said: “As a member of our Provincial Council, my goal is to strive daily to give witness to viable community life. I feel we are all responsible to keep the flame of Mother Theresa’s charism burning alive in our time. It is my hope that we can work together, so that the little that each one of us can give will go a long way towards the realization of our goal “to strengthen the bond of unity among us and in those we serve.”

Sister Dawida Krzempek

Sister Dawida  is originally from the region called Silesia, south of Poland, that borders with the Czech Republic. She has been an SSND for 25 years.

In the year 2000, Sister Dawida was missioned to The Gambia to do pastoral work in the parish and at the same time teach in Notre Dame Vocational School in Soma. She was also responsible for Soma Pastoral Centre, welcoming and organizing meetings for missionary children and youth from the region. In 2008 she was sent to study at Notre Dame of Maryland University to enable her to respond fully to the needs of the time as an instrument in shaping and supporting children. After graduation, she returned to The Gambia to minister in Notre Dame Basic School in Soma. There she taught in school and beyond the classroom, emphasizing the importance of unity regardless of religion or financial status. Sr. Dawida also served as The Gambia Area Local Leader, believing in Mother Theresa’s words, “In unity is our strength, therefore, we must hold to this anchor above all.”

You Are Sent # 4, says: Our mission is to proclaim the good news as School Sisters of Notre Dame, directing our entire lives towards that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent. As he was sent to show the Father’s love to the world, we are sent to make Christ visible by our very being, by sharing our love, faith and hope. “Believing in Mother Theresa’s words. I, Sister Dawida, desire to express my passion of sharing my love for our eight-year-old province of Africa.”

Sister Antoinette Cornelius

Sister Antoinette  is from Ghana, West Africa. She was raised in Fanti (Akan) matrilineal culture where the girl child is the heartbeat of the family. She is the oldest of three children which includes her twin brothers.

Sister Antoinette has been a School Sister of Notre Dame for nearly twelve years. She had her first profession of vows in July 2007 and perpetual vows in April 2016. Her life as an SSND has been an enriching experience of deepening faith, building faith community and serving God’s people in many ways.

Serving as a primary school teacher from 2007 – 2009, Sister Antoinette pursued a four-year Bachelors degree in Education at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, from August 2009 - June 2013. After her studies, she was missioned to teach in St. Martin’s Senior Secondary School in Nsawam, Ghana. These ministries helped her to share the SSND vision of education which is to lead students in developing their potential to the fullest. Sister served as a member of the Provincial Assembly and also had the opportunity to journey with interested women as an Affiliate Director for three years. This helped her to deepen her passion for SSND as she built relationships, served as a mentor, and invited others to experience our charism. In 2016, Sister Antoinette was invited to be a pioneer member of our congregational novitiate community in Rome for three years. This experience exposed her to the heart of the congregation, to our intercultural, multi-generational faith community, and it gave her opportunities to be an example of following You Are Sent to our novices.

Sister Antoinette says: “Mary and Mother Theresa, women of great faith and trust in God, have been my models. From them I have learned what it means to be in deeper union with God and to be human.” Sister Antoinette’s hope is that we become agents of unity, hope and of God’s love in our communities, provinces, congregation and the world at large