There were emotional scenes at Dublin Airport as a group of women arrived to show their appreciation for Irish nuns [1] who taught them in Cameroon during the 1980s.
The 21 former students from Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School for girls in Mankon touched down in Ireland yesterday afternoon.
The group, who called themselves the “Pacesetters”, include members who earned PhDs and Masters with careers in engineering, nursing, medicine and more.
The class of 1986 were met by seven nuns from the Holy Rosary Sisters, who were former principals and teachers at the school.
Dr Claire Minang, said the nuns taught them “self-confidence and they made us understand that we matter, that we are enough as women in this masculine world.”
“We got out of there with so much more, knowing that we could be whatever we want to be”.
The former principal of the school, Sister Mary Neville, who spent 30 years in Cameroon said of the occasion: “It’s marvellous, it’s hard to believe, it’s extraordinary.”
She added that the reunion was “absolutely, very, very special.”