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School, or BOGISS as it was popularly known.
Patricia continued teaching in ZUSS.
However, there were plans to build Bolgatanga
Secondary School along the Tamale Road, five
miles from Bolgatanga, called locally BIG BOSS,
and this was to replace ZUSS. Patricia was
responsible for removing the library and science
equipment in January 1976 to BIG BOSS, and
she herself was appointed Senior Housemistress
and went to live there. Sadly in February 1976
Patricia, worn out from the move, fell sick.
As there was no Xray film in Bolga Hospital
nor in Korle-bu in Accra, Patricia was sent
back to the States for diagnosis and treatment
and was unable to return. Hence this ended
the SHCJ connection with ZUSS and _ its
replacement, BIG BOSS.
BOLGATANGA: ‘a Special Place”
What is it that makes Bolgatanga a
“special place”? In the year of the Silver Jubilee
of Bolgatanga, 1996, we looked back to our
beginnings in 1971 and it seemed that already, in
the first community report of 1971-72, we can
trace five areas that have made up the life and
apostolate of the Bolgatanga community over
these 25 years.The five areas are: hospitality,
celebration, education, clinic work and help for
the poor, catechetical and parish involvement.
All these have something to do with making
Bolgatanga a “special place.”
HOSPITALITY
Hospitality has always been a distinguish-
ing mark of Bolgatanga. Even before we were
established there, those who visited from the
south were struck with the extraordinary
hospitality shown them on their visits. As
the journals recall, they “were royally received
everywhere.” We have noted how only a few days
after the first sisters moved into their new
convent, they had their first visitors “making do”
in unfinished rooms. As the community report
puts it:
“These were the first of the many visitors who have
surprised and delighted us all year, Sisters, lay
missionaries and young women passing through
LM
131
Bolga, or coming to the Regional capital on school
and hospital business, and Fathers and Brothers
overflowing from the Mission visitors’ rooms.”
As the convent kitchen was not ready when they
arrived, they ate their meals at the mission and
would bring any visitors they had with them. As
Katherine says, “The Mission community received
them as part of the family, good food and good
conversation always seemed plentiful.” The
community report also noted that “It was during
this time (of sharing meals at the Mission) that we
learned to know many of the priests who made
us feel very much at home in the Navrongo
diocese.” Hence over the years the sisters have
not only received very many visitors but have
also. been welcomed _ themselves
whenever they dropped into any mission house,
or stayed overnight on catechetical work, etc.
warmly
Perhaps because Bolgatanga was so far
away and only reached by a very bad road, the
special “bonding” developed with the local
groups of sisters, fathers and brothers. The
religious included the White Fathers, the
Presentation American
Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, the Alexian
Brothers and the Presbyterian Missionary
doctors and nurses.
Brothers, the
All were ready to share
whatever they could with each other, food, diesel,
expertise and hospitality. As one reads through
the journals the stream of visitors continues,
including many SHC].
Soon Bolgatanga became a community to
which our new African sisters in various stages of
In 1972 Grace Ellis,
who had just completed her Sixth Form in Cape
formation would be sent.
Coast, went to spend a year teaching at ZUSS
before entering the novitiate. As the clinic and
catechetical centre got under way through
Elizabeth Steffans and Jeanne Adams, so in 1975
Veronica Openibo spent a month helping
Jeanne, and Rose Nwosu went to work in the
clinic. As the candidates’ programme was estab-
lished at Cape Coast, they too have often had
their apostolic experience at Bolga. The
Bolgatanga journal begins in September 1973
and already, on the second page, we see
hospitality as a special aspect of the community:
“We welcomed many sisters of various orders as guests