Sister Alice Vandenoever
Current Mission Location – EUS, NJ
Alice Vandenoever was born March 1, 1940 to Olive (Ruger) and Alof Vandenoever in Manhattan, New York. She had one brother: Cornelius J. Alice graduated from Blessed Sacrament High School in 1957. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Hunter College, NYC in 1961 and a Master of Arts in Chemistry in 1968 also from Hunter, the City University of New York.
Alice entered the Maryknoll Sisters September 14, 1968 at the novitiate in St. Louis, MO from Holy Name Parish, New York City. She professed First Vows June 2, 1973 at the Center in NY and Final Vows April 15, 1978 in the Philippines. From 1969-’70 Alice gave Congregational Service teaching at Rogers College at the Center.
Sister Alice was assigned to the Philippines in 1970 where she served for eight years teaching math and science in Maryknoll College, Philippine Women’s College in Davao City and at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
Returning to Maryknoll, New York in 1978, to give Congregation Service, Sister Alice decided to leave the teaching field to work more closely with the urban poor.
Upon her return to the Philippines Sister Alice worked as Livlihood Coordinator for AKAP, a non-government organization (NGO) that provided anti tuberculosis services to several squatter and resettlement areas around Metro-Manila. Knowing the poor have almost no access to bank loans and were exploited by loan sharks, Sister Alice implemented micro-finance programs providing small loans for income generating projects.
While still with AKAP, Sister worked with three other NGOs serving the urban poor in Metro Manila. One NGO served a group of blind squatters living near the Maryknoll Center house in Quezon City. Sister Alice had various functions while serving with these organizations – president of the board, executive director, friend of the urban poor whose job was to produce a newsletter. Two of these other NGOs also had micro-finance programs.
In 1992, Sister was assigned to the Center where she divided her time to give congregational service in the Mission Awareness Promotion Office of the Maryknoll Sisters Development Department speaking in Churches assigned to the Congregation and for family ministry in New Jersey.