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Sierra Leone Education In 1954, the sisters began St. Mary’s Technical and Vocational Centre in the same compound as the primary school in Bo. It was a unique Centre for Adult Training in Home Management and Childcare for illiterate women. It continued along those lines until 1963, when the intake changed to girls who had dropped out of primary and secondary schools. The center added a commercial course in 1967 and a computer course in 2001.
In 1955, the sisters started the Catholic Girls Training College in Kenema in the Eastern Province, in response to a demand for qualified women teachers. The government took over Teachers Colleges in 1968 and students were transferred to Women’s Teachers College, Port Lokko in the Northern Province. The sisters used the buildings to start HRS Secondary School in Kenema, which is still in existence. Training teachers has always been a priority for Holy Rosary Sisters, so they took jobs at Government Teachers Colleges. Today, many alumni of MSHR institutions are prominent citizens. In 1958, the sisters carved a new compound out of the bush about a mile outside Bo for Queen of the Rosary School, the first Catholic Secondary School for Girls in the Provinces. Only four students persevered to take their final exams; one earned a Distinction. She later became the first lay principal. Today, approximately 50 girls attempt the final exam each year. Lack of qualified staff was a problem until the arrival of U.S. Peace Corps and British Volunteers in 1961. In 1968, the sisters started a Women's Co-operative
to pool their tie-dye and sewing skills to produce school uniforms. In 1976, the sisters established their first convent in Freetown; they needed a base when coming to the capital for business with the different government ministries. In 1978, they opened St. Joseph’s Commercial School there. It produced top secretaries who were in great demand by the many business enterprises in the city. In 1984, two Sisters pioneered the Makeni venture in the Northern Province: one in pastoral ministry, the other in public health. Later, a sister joined the staff of the Teachers College. Health Care In 1965, the people of Lower Bambara in the Eastern Province asked Archbishop Brosnahan to open a hospital in Panguma. Here also Primary Health Care flourished. For both hospitals, training took pride of place: village health committees were visited weekly to assist in problem-solving and for the health visitor to learn relevant health traditions. Village maternity assistants were trained to detect maternity problems; nurses were trained to be trainers; professional nurses were trained; Community Health Officers were trained in the Bo Paramedical School, where two Sisters worked from the beginning until the rebel war. Sadly the rebel war of the 1990s stopped all those activities. Serabu was torched and destroyed; Panguma suffered less building destruction, but suffered the unspeakable tragedy of the shooting death of three of its staff.
Today… Fortunately, Holy Rosary Sisters had handed over the administration of all their institutions before the rebel war began in 1991. More than 20 sisters left the country in January 1995, when Bo was attacked. A few returned to Freetown to do Skills Training with displaced people in the camps and still continue in that capacity. The bishop of Kenema asked Holy Rosary Sisters to minister to the refugees from his diocese who had fled over the border to Guinea. Though the war ended in 2001, not all the refugees have returned. Guinea Refugee Services
650,000 refugees lived in 150 camps in Guinea. The numbers fluctuated during the last decade as the political situations changed in neighboring countries. The Holy Rosary Sisters served in Gueckedou, Guinea (near the borders of Liberia and Sierra Leone) until a rebel invasion. The sisters then moved 40 miles to Kissidougou, where they now serve refugees in surrounding camps. They continue to help refugees to navigate their search for loved ones and services through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, aid agencies, local governments, and other offices. They provide hope for the future. The effects of the war are horrendous. Men, women, and children have suffered greatly. Men have lost dignity as they are less able to provide for families; some were forced to commit terrible atrocities and now live in fear. Many women have been raped, even gang-raped; some had to take part in killing a family member. Many children were separated from families; some were forced to take up weapons and kill. Many refugees see the future passing by.
Today … The number of sisters is small—three or four
at a time—but they remain active in many ministries. They focus
on empowering refugees, specifically through an integrated program
that trains for transformation. Refugees attend sessions in adult
literacy, counseling, skills training, and income-generating activities.
The sisters have trained trainers to run this program. The program
now works with approximately 2,000 people in Sierra Leone, 2,000
in Guinea, and 500 in Liberia. In Sierra Leone, Holy Rosary Sisters
are established in the two areas most devastated by the war, the
diamond rich territory of Kono and the area of Kailahun. Most of
the participants are enthusiastic women who did not have the opportunity
to attend school when they were young. It is also a social gathering
for women to relax and forget their burdens for a few hours each
week.
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Serabu
became a well-known hospital throughout Sierra Leone and beyond,
providing medical, surgical, obstetrical, and pediatric services;
it became best known for its primary health care. Twenty years into
curative hospital care, preventable health problems were still rampant.
Child and maternal mortality rates remained high. The hospital provided
acceptable, accessible, and affordable health services. Getting the
people to participate in planning the program required many evening
and night visits to villages with long dialogues about different
perceptions of disease causes, prevention, and cure. Small health
committees (cells) were formed in each village, resulting in positive
changes. 
