The Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, Catholic Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom and legal owner of Holy Spirit Catholic Polyclinic Kwasi Fante, in the Afram Plains, Eastern Ghana, has lauded the efforts of the Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) for their hard work and commitment over the years at the Polyclinic, as it celebrates 25th Anniversary.
He said “As the local Ordinary, by the grace of God, and the owner of this facility, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the Missionary Sisters Servant of the Holy Spirit, commonly known as the SSpS Sisters that worked here over the years, and those still working in the facility, for your commitment and dedication to the mandate of Jesus to the Church, though the Apostles to heal the sick and bring relief to the suffering”.
“Holy Spirit Sisters have worked very hard and with passion over the years in diverse ways to grow the Holy Spirit Catholic Health Centre. Their intention and vision were to ensure that the health needs of the people and, especially pregnant women and children who are most vulnerable, are adequately catered for,” the bishop added.
Recounting the Genesis of the Health Facility, the Local Ordinary said “It all started in 1983 where some Krachi farmers together with their families migrated and settled on the Abetifi Stool land area to cultivate yam. Many of the people suffered and some even died from snakebites. Pregnant women were dying during delivery at home, and children were also dying of the six childhood killer diseases. There was no health care center close at hand to immediately attend to the urgent health needs of the people”.
The Bishop pointed out that it was one Mr. Anthony Mensah, the first Assemblyman of the Kwasi Fante Electoral Area, (who happened to have been present for the 25th Anniversary Celebration) who, touched by the unfortunate situation, was moved to envision the establishment of a clinic to curtail these preventable deaths and to provide for the health needs of the Kwasi Fante community and beyond, and in collaboration with Opanin Kwadjo Gyaabeng, the then Odikro (Chief), the present site was released for the project.
Bishop Asiedu related that “the community worked tirelessly and with enthusiasm to clear the land and to prepare it for the construction work to begin. This was in fulfilment of the promise made by the community to provide labour under the Community Participation Concept. With their full participation and support, the Assemblyman was able to start the construction of the Clinic on 5th April, 1989. The District Assembly was contacted and with its financial support, the first structure was completed in 1995, including the first Nurses’ quarters”.
“The clinic was handed over to the Roman Catholic Church on 3rd March, 1999. It was placed under the Holy Spirit Sisters, who have since been actively and selflessly working in the facility,” he affirmed, adding that Sr. Bonoza Winbek, SSpS (of blessed memory) and Sr. Hycinta Frick (SSpS) were the very first religious missionary sisters to heed the “needs, wellbeing and the cry of the poor” to work at the then Clinic, which over the years has expanded with more structures and services, to improve the health needs of the people.
“This Healthcare Facility under the care and management of successive leaders has seen growth and development, and today, we recount twenty-five years of its existence and its new status as a Polyclinic, with joy and pride, but especially, with heartfelt gratitude first to God, and all stakeholders,” the bishop acclaimed.
The Polyclinic owner further noted that the Spiritual needs of the early missionary sisters at the Facility had been catered for by Rev. Fr. Sabastian Sperl, SVD (of blessed memory), one of the pioneer Divine Word Missionaries to Kwahu Afram Plains, who had generously volunteered to work in the facility as a full-time Chaplain, and remained in close collaboration with the SSpS Sisters, during his retirement.
“He efficiently and effectively provided for the spiritual needs of the Sisters, the staff and patients of the Health Centre for many years, until he was called to eternity. He was the first and only full-time Chaplain to have worked in this facility, he affirmed.
The Bishop shared the desire and hope that Holy Spirit Catholic Polyclinic maintains its integrity and serve as a beacon of God’s light in the community, and that it may keep growing to meet the ever-increasing health needs of “our dear and beloved people”.
“May the journey of our healthcare establishment continue to be a ray of hope, quality health and resilience as our patients find comfort, and you, our esteemed care givers find strength as each day comes with all the graces and blessings you need from God, he prayed.
Sr. Mercy Benson, SSpS, Provincial Superior of the Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit, Ghana Province, in an address could not but celebrate how far God has led them through the years to witness “this colourful event”.
“On one blissful Saturday in 1997,” she recounted, “two of our elder Sisters invited me to accompany them for a visit of a land promised to them and to us in Kwasi Fante. I was then one of the missionaries in Donkorkrom. The sisters were Sr. Hycinta Frick, SSpS and Sr. Bonoza Winbek, SSpS, some of our pioneering Sisters in Afram Plains. So little did I know that this land which we came to see, with a unit of just two rooms, a beautiful plot with grass, lovely trees, would become the structure we have today, the edifice we celebrate”.
According to her, celebrating Holy Spirit Polyclinic Kwasi Fante, equally meant celebrating the presence of the Holy Spirit Sisters in Kwasi Fante, because “It is the visit and the presence of the Holy Spirit Sisters in Kwasi Fante that has brought about the Church’s mission here, of touching lives, with the healing of Jesus”.
She expressed gratitude to the dedicated staff, Mr. Raymond Aryee, the Administrator, Sr. Petra Manalu and her community, the chiefs and elders, and all well-wishers, mission partners, who have supported the Facility in various ways to bring it thus far.
Three SSpS Sisters who have served as Managers at Holy Spirit Catholic Polyclinic were recognized during the Silver Jubilee with Citations. They were: Srs. Margaret Frimpomaa Nyame, SSpS, Mary Nkrumah, SSpS and Dorota Sojka, SSpS.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate \ Sister Communicator)
