DUNIA Magazine

By Lilian Nukuna-Fomunung

At the foot of Bamenda Station Hill, in the neighborhood of Mankon village in the North-West of Cameroon  is an all girls boarding school, Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School Mankon, popularly known as Lourdes College. It is the only Girls-only boarding school in the North West Province. Lourdes College opened its doors to the first set of girls in 1963. It is run by the Holy Rosary Sisters Order in Ireland. The school is part of the Catholic education system in Cameroon.

Photo courtesy of Lesans Around the World

With her brown bricks and corrugated roof tops, the buildings in Lourdes look like something from ancient Greek architecture. But it is exactly this exotic look and the promise of solid principles that has attracted and keeps attracting and enticing Cameroonian parents (and those from other countries) at home and in the diaspora to ship their daughters away to this boarding school.

Lourdes is reputed not only for her serene surroundings, a culture of academic excellence and moral rectitude,but also for the caliber of students that  graduate from here. Lourdes has given Cameroon and the world, young women of exceptional and exemplary talents. Graduates from this prestigious institution have graced fashion houses in London, Paris and New York and yes, Nunneries and Convents. They are on Wall Street, Research facilities, class rooms, work in hospitals, banks, international organizations across the globe and on best sellers lists. In and out of Lourdes there is no shortage of talent.

The alumni organization is called LESA and a registered member is a LESAN. The main purpose of LESA is to promote the spiritual and educational growth of its members and to provide material support for the continuous growth of Lourdes College. Evidence of these efforts and ongoing works by LESA can be seen in the recently completed multi-million CFA water system and sanitation project in Lourdes college. And also in the award of scholarships to deserving students. The campus now boasts of a high school, an auditorium, a refectory, renovated staff quarters, and an on campus chapel which are all additions to the original four buildings and a convent that made up Lourdes in the beginning.

Lourdes College turns 50 in 2013. What a pride for the Holy Rosary Sisters and Catholic education! We have stood the test of time and are going strong. “Come Children of the Rosary.”

OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE PHOTOS

Read | LESA USA-INC MAGAZINE