SHESA crestSHESA

About SHESA

The story of a school.And its brotherhood.

From a hillside in Mankon in 1962, Sacred Heart College has forged a brotherhood that outlasts every graduation. This is who we are, where we came from, and where we're heading , together.

Viriliter age.

The Motto

Viriliter age.

"ACT WITH COURAGE"

Two words. A lifelong assignment. Since 1962, every Shesan has walked out of the college gates carrying this compass. It calls for bravery in the face of difficulty, honesty in every dealing, discipline in every pursuit, and gentleness in every relationship, the through-line that connects the boy in the classroom to the man in the boardroom, the field, the courtroom, the pulpit.

01

Courage

To face difficulty without flinching. To speak the truth in every room. To do the hard, right thing.

02

Integrity

To be the same man in the dark as in daylight. In victory as in loss. In private as in public.

03

Discipline

To pursue excellence in small things. Because small things are the foundation of great ones.

Sacred Heart College, Mankon

Sacred Heart College

Mankon · Bamenda

The College

Sacred Heart College, Mankon.

On a hillside in Mankon, in Cameroon's Northwest highlands, the Mill Hill Missionaries opened the doors of Sacred Heart College in 1962. For six decades and counting, the college has shaped young men into scholars, priests, professionals, and leaders, with rigour, discipline, and an unmistakable Catholic ethos.

What began as a modest boys' school in the highlands has grown into one of Cameroon's most storied institutions, a place where the sons of teachers, farmers, doctors, and public servants have sat side-by-side and become brothers for life.

1962

Founded

Mill Hill

Missionaries

Mankon

Bamenda, Cameroon

How we get there

Vision needs a plan. Ours runs 2026 to 2030.

Four pillars, three phases, one direction. The SHESA Strategic Plan turns the Vision on the previous page into a concrete pathway, with owners, timelines, and measurable outcomes.

  • Phase I

    Foundation

    2026 – 2027

  • Phase II

    Expansion

    2027 – 2028

  • Phase III

    Consolidation

    2029 – 2030

The Association

A movement in three letters.

The Sacred Heart Ex-Students' Association, SHESA, is what happens when a school produces enough men who refuse to forget each other.

Constituted formally as an alumni body, SHESA is the living network of every man who has walked through the college gates, from the founding class of the sixties to the leavers of last term. We count our members in the tens of thousands, our chapters in the hundreds, and our countries in the dozens.

We are organised into governing organs at national and regional level, coordinated by an elected executive and served by working committees. But the real work is not the governance, it is the four things we do relentlessly, in that order.

The Charter

To reconnect, celebrate, serve, and steward, for as long as there are Shesans, and for those who come after.

01

Reconnect

Chapter meetings, class reunions, homecomings, the mechanics of keeping the brotherhood alive.

02

Celebrate

Weddings, ordinations, promotions, book launches, showing up for each other, always.

03

Serve

Scholarships, infrastructure, healthcare, pouring back into the school and the wider community.

04

Steward

Guarding the ethos of the college and preparing the ground for the generations still to come.

The Road

The road we walked.

Six decades of chalk on blackboards, hymns at chapel, laughter at reunions. The moments that shaped us, in order.

  • 1962

    The College opens.

    The Mill Hill Missionaries open the doors of Sacred Heart College on a hillside in Mankon, Bamenda. Twenty boys form the first class.

  • 1968

    The first Shesans.

    The founding cohort graduates and scatters into the world. The seed of what will become an alumni movement is planted.

  • 1980s

    Chapters take root.

    Ex-students in Bamenda, Yaoundé, Douala, and Buea begin meeting informally. Chapter culture is born.

  • 1988

    SHESA is constituted.

    The Sacred Heart Ex-Students Association is formally constituted, with a national executive and a governing charter.

  • 2000s

    The diaspora chapters.

    North America, Europe, and the wider African diaspora form active chapters. SHESA becomes a global network.

  • 2016

    The scholarship fund.

    The alumni scholarship programme launches, aimed at keeping the college accessible to bright students of humble means.

  • 2024

    The biggest AGM in a decade.

    Chapters converge on Bamenda for a landmark AGM. Attendance breaks records; ambitions are set for what comes next.

  • 2026

    All roads lead to Yaoundé.

    The next chapter of the movement, an AGM like no other, at Palais des Congrès, Yaoundé.

Vision & Mission

The Shesa we're building.

Vision

To build a globally connected, influential, and inclusive SHESA network that empowers every SHESAN to thrive and create lasting societal impact.

Mission

To connect, empower, and mobilize SHESANs worldwide through lifelong engagement, professional development, mutual support, and collective action for better livelihood, advancement of SAHECO and nation building.

One SHESA. One Dream.