Vocation director to embark on journey to Cameroon
July 31, 2007 — As vocation director for the Congregation of Notre Dame's Visitation Province, Sr. Susan Kidd has traveled Canada, meeting with young people, giving presentations and showing through actions and words what it means to be a religious in today's world. As a guest commentator, she participated in national CBC television coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral and the installation of Pope Benedict XVI.
There is no script for her next step. On Aug. 11, Sr. Kidd will leave for two years of service in Kumbo in the northwest region of Cameroon, a country on the west coast of Africa.
Sr. Kidd has been inspired by the words of Stephen Lewis and by a Congregation of Notre Dame sister in Africa who challenged her to "lose myself in something bigger than myself."
"Sometimes my perspective can be pretty narrow, and I just need to be reminded of the mission of Jesus and the bigness of my call - the call to love - and the huge task that is ours as believers," Sr. Kidd says.
Sr. Kidd, who hails from Kingston, Ont., taught religion and physical education for 10 years with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. In Kumbo, she will likely serve in youth ministry of some kind, but her role has yet to be defined.
"When I go it's not about working right away, it's about being present with the people there. And then begin to identify some needs and how I can respond," she says.
The sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame are serving in several regions of Cameroon. Sr. Kidd will join four sisters living in Kumbo. One of these sisters is Sr. Catherine Molloy, the on-site lead for the OK Clean Water Project. The project - OK stands for Ottawa-Kumbo - supports the purchase of water pipes, which are laid by villagers from a clean water source into their communities. Funds are raised with the support of people in Ottawa and beyond.
The Congregation of Notre Dame is a vibrant, international religious community of sisters and associates, with a strong presence throughout Canada. Drawing on its longstanding dedication to education, the congregation is pursuing in various ways its mission towards the transformation of society for a more just and humane world.
Read more about becoming a sister.
Read more about the Congregation of Notre Dame.