The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (SMNDA; French: Sœurs Missionnaires de Notre-Dame d'Afrique), often called the White Sisters (Sœurs blanches)[a] is a missionary society founded in 1869 that operates in Africa.

In 1868, the archbishop of Algiers, Charles Lavigerie, endorsed the foundation of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, or White Fathers.

[3] Lavigerie sent the Abbé Le Mauff back to his native Brittany to recruit the first sisters, who were to be "generous, brave, ready for anything and capable of becoming the cornerstones of the society.

[8][c] Lavigerie said the main goal of the missionaries was to train Africans, who would in turn bring Christianity to the people of Africa.

Lavigerie warned missionaries not to do anything to generate hostility from Muslims, but to work on raising awareness of the values taught by the Gospel.

[10] Unlike other female Catholic orders, the White Sisters did not specialize in teaching or nursing, but evangelized through home visits and religious instruction.

[16] In 1902, the White Sisters began work in Buddu, Uganda, led by Mother Mechtilde.

[18] Women played an important social role in Bembaland in the northeast of today's Zambia, and could be very effective in proselytizing.

[11] They established the "Children of Mary" at Kayambi to give young women religious instruction and to try to ensure that the girls avoided cohabiting with their fiancés before marriage.

[18] After taking it from the Germans during World War I, the Belgians occupied Ujiji in what is now Tanzania from 1916 to 1920, and called on the White Sisters for medical help.

As well as treating Belgian soldiers, the White Sisters provided medical services to the African communities, in the hope of converting them from Islam or traditional religions.

[23] Immediately after World War I, the British ordered the European women missionaries to leave their mission in Kilema, Tanganyika for South Africa.

[26] By 2003, there were communities in Algeria, Tunisia, Mauretania, Mali, Burkina, Ghana, Chad, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.