There have been emotional scenes at Dublin Airport as a group of women arrived to show their appreciation for Irish nuns who taught them in Cameroon during the 1980s.

The 21 former students from Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School for girls in Mankon touched down in Ireland this afternoon.

The group, who called themselves the “Pacesetters”, include members who have worked and travelled the world, some earning PhDs and Masters with careers in engineering, nursing, medicine and more.

The class of 1986 were met by seven nuns from the Holy Rosary Sisters, who were former principals and teachers at the school.

They were greeted with banners and Irish and Cameroonian flags for the school reunion, which is almost 40 years in the making.

One of former students who organised the event, Dr Claire Minang, said the nuns taught the then young women “self-confidence and they made us understand that we matter, that we are enough as women in this masculine world.”

“We got out of there with so much more, knowing that we could be whatever we want to be,” she said.

It was an occasion filled with emotion for the former principal of the school, Sister Mary Neville, who spent 30 years in Cameroon.

She said: “It’s marvelous, it’s hard to believe, it’s extraordinary.”

Sister Neville added that the reunion was “absolutely, very, very special.”

The former classmates sang songs in the arrivals hall of Terminal One in honour of their former teachers, with a heart-warming rendition too of “Happy Birthday” to Sister Mary, who turns 90 next month.

She said: “I can’t believe that either.”

“If you asked me how old I am, I keep saying 80, and then I say oh no it’s not, it’s 90,” she added.

Another former principal, Sister Nuala Lahert, said the Cameroonians are “a very special people and they have that sense of gratitude.”

She stated: “it means an awful lot to us.”

“These women have done so well in Cameroon, in the UK and also in America and they’re very loyal to us,” she added.

The former classmates are also hoping to reconnect over the coming days during their stay in Ireland.

Judith Mbuy Nwana said “we are forever grateful” for what the nuns did for them.

She said: “It’s very emotional for us.”

“A lot of us are seeing them for the first time after leaving the school in 1986,” she stated.

Marie Ndoping said Sister Mary was “like a mother to us, she looked after us.”

“I cannot say thank you enough,” she added.

Ms Ndoping said they had sisters that believed in them and turned them into “strong young women” and “made sure we achieved our potential.”

Events will take place on Friday at the Holy Rosary Sisters Convent in Artane in Dublin to celebrate the reunion.

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