Institute for Pastoral Initiatives News

By John LeComte

He is one of nine children. He wanted to be a priest. He is now the first person from his Diocese to complete a course from University of Dayton’s online program called the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation, or VLCFF.

His name is Joseph Nyondo.  He lives in Malawi, central Africa, a country about the size of Pennsylvania.   Born and raised in a Catholic Christian family, Joseph is the fourth born of nine children in his family.(four girls and five boys). 

Now 46 years old, Joseph has four children of his own, but contemplated priesthood before fatherhood.

 "I studied Philosophy and Theology in pursuit of becoming a priest, but I did not continue my training," Nyondo told me via email. " 

Instead, Joseph chose to serve the Lord in another way, but still through the church. As part of his work for the Diocese of Karonga in Malawi, Joseph ensures the Catholic doctrine is properly taught to others.

 Joseph's journey can be traced back to July 2016.  My colleague, Dorothy Mensah-Aggrey,spent time in Africa and her travels led her to a collaboration with the Diocese of Karonga.  After meeting with Bishop Martin Mtumbuka and others, including the Pastoral Council,  a plan was formed.  Upon Dorothy’s return, the VLCFF worked in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences to bring a representative from Malawi to campus.

In August 2017 Malawi’s representative, Ignatius Mvula, arrived at the University of Dayton's Institute for Pastoral Initiatives to work with our staff on creating an implementation plan.   Mvula learned about the process for creating online courses and the online perspective here on campus, so he would be better able to educate his diocese.  The main aim of this partnership is to help in the training of catechists, catechetical leaders and Catholic school teachers.   

Now, after only one year, Joseph becomes the first person from his Diocese to complete Level I of the Certificate in Catechesis.

 "I have gained a lot, becoming so knowledgeable about our Catholic faith," Nyondo said. "As Catechetical Methodology Advisor, I am able to catechize others with the right doctrine of the Catholic Church. Spititually,  I have been enlightened and I can humbly say that I have clear information that I can impart to the people I am ministering."

"I give a deep sense of gratitude to my Bishop for entrusting me with this responsibility of leading people on a faith journey," said Ignatius Mvula.  "Secondly, a deep sense of gratitude to all the staff at the University's Institute with whom I did my internship last year. The success of Joseph is a product of their cooperation."

 Of course there was a slight learning curve in Malawi, due to network outages.

 "In Malawi we have persistent power shortage or blackouts," he said. "When you want to write and send the assignments you find that you are in that situation of a blackout. It means that writing and sending of the assignments is disturbed."

Nyondo said proper planning was the key to posting his assignments.  Sometimes he dedicated a day to write all the assignments, then posted a little at a time, so all his work was not lost by those power outages.

Now, Nyondo has the power to teach others in his Diocese. and he says it's all about doing it for the good of his community.

"I can rightly call it, Faith-Lived," he said.

 The VLCFF distance learning program offers over 100 course subjects in English and Spanish.   Partnering with nearly 80 Dioceses and Archdioceses worldwide, the online program provides 5-week e-courses or 3-week e-seminars.  VLCFF.udayton.edu.

The Marianists presence in Malawi includes the Chaminade Catholic Secondary School & Miracle Technical College in the Karonga District. In 2009, Matt Maroon, a UD alumnus who undertook a year of service with the Marianists, committed to development work in the region and established a Karonga-based NGO, Determined to Develop. Since then, UD students regularly travel there to engage in research and service-learning projects.