23 March, 2021

By Genevieve Ibedu, SHCJ, Administrator

It was indeed a very colorful celebration at Holy Child College ASA, as the SHCJs, Staff and Students joyfully celebrated a belated birthday of our beloved foundress, the Venerable Cornelia Connelly. This would have happened at the beginning of the year but the delay in resumption due to COVID 19 pandemic resulted to it been celebrated at a much later date. Thus, bringing to life the age long injunction of Cornelia that we ‘’SUSTAIN A BRIGHT AND JOYFUL SPIRIT’’.

The hallmark of this awesome event was a very animated and vibrant celebration of the the Holy Mass, at which the priest extolled the commendable virtues of our Mother Foundress and enjoined everyone to tow the path she paved for us especially that of a Childlike trust in God.

Furthermore, during the celebration, the Community went wild with joy and rolled out its drums when we declared the commencement of the yearlong celebration of our SHCJ’s 175th Anniversary in the school, which will be done in phases.

We hope to celebrate this Milestone with well planned activities like; Drama, Quizzes, Debates, Talk show, Musical Concert, Sporting activities as well as visits to the prison and motherless babies home. We also hope to organize reach out programs to our environs in a bid to announce and share with them this memorable moment in the life of the College and our larger Holy Child Family.

Other highlights of the event were the cutting of Cornelia’s Birthday cake by the Sisters, Staff and Students, very entertaining presentations by the various students year groups in form choreography, a peek into Cornelia’s early years and the founding of her schools. The school Cultural troupe also treated us to a sizzling Idoma cultural dance.

The celebration came to an end with a spirited and conscious declaration by the College community to use this period to postulate and make Cornelia’s Legacy our own and this we will begin to practice in concrete terms by treating one another with Kindness, compassion and like PRINCES and PRINCESSES.

ACTIONS NOT WORDS!

As part of our practical ways of celebration Our 175th Anniversary, we went round the Asa community and invited the children to Holy Child College Asa. That morning about 65 children were around and our students taught them English, maths and general subjects as well as etiquette and also moral instruction.

They also shared stories about Cornelia with them.

Finally, they prayed with them and gave them gifts such as exercise books, pencils, water and biscuits. The children went home very happy and excited. This was a great experience for all of us, and we have decided to make it an every weekend exercise and a way of giving back to the community in which we live.