St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church
John Nadworny's
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How I came to this
About the Cannossian Daughters of Charity
About Malawi
How you can participate
I grew up in Utah with many of my good friends going on missions for the Mormon Church. Missionary work is something that I admired and I had briefly thought about doing at some point in my life, but I would classify it as more of a fantasy than serious consideration. I've been thinking that I would do this "Someday." I looked into the Peace Corps as I was finishing college, but the same day that I decided to go by the recruiting office, I got a call from a guy at Hewlett-Packard Company who would later turn out to be my manager. I've been working as a mechanical engineer and now as a Senior Engineer for the last 2 years. I realized very early on that this was the ideal job that I wanted when I was trying to figure out my career plans back in high school. I've been there 9 years now, and as I finished up a big project and started looking for the next project I did not see anything that I would be passionate about doing. As I thought about what to do next and talked things over with friends, the topic of volunteer service came up and I started rethinking the Peace Corps. The more I thought about volunteer work, the more I wanted to spend my time with a faith based organization. I started checking into a few different options on the web and came across the VOICA program. The idea of spending a few months in Rome for training and formation was really appealing and I had some great conversations with the US coordinator to figure out if this was something for me.
It was a tough decision to leave my family, friends, and a good job. The more I learned about this program and what I will be doing, the more certain I've become. At first I went back and forth on it, and I certainly didn't ever want to regret leaving my job. Then I realized that if I don't go and do it, then that's what I'd really regret.
I'm going to move into the unknown with a lot of hope and confidence. I've had my family and a great group of friends supporting me (and a whole bunch of people praying for me) which has really made this possible.
About the Cannossian Daughters of CharityThe mission of VOICA is to help lay women and men realize their dream of serving the universal Church by enabling them to share their gifts and talents with the poor in overseas Canossian missions. VOICA embodies the spirit of St Magdalene of Canossa and seeks to fulfill her goal of making Jesus known and loved. The four pillars of the VOICA program-spirituality, formation, community, and service-form the hearts of the volunteers so they may love gratuitously and live in solidarity with their community members and the poor they serve. VOICA's aim is to have volunteers internalize their experiences and become empowered to live their lives as active participants in the worldwide Catholic Church and in a global society. Volunteers build up "little bridges of solidarity and fraternity" by either establishing or participating in groups, associations and centers for voluntary service.
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF SERVICE: Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Angola, Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and in some Asian countries according to the need.
If you are considering volunteer service or just want to learn more about some of the other volunteer organizations, check out the Pallotti Center. You can find something that is right for you by searching for organizations and programs in specific parts of the U.S. or around the world, and look into commitments ranging from one day to several years for virtually any age group and state in life.
Malawi is located near the southern end of the Great Rift Valley, south of Tanzania, and north of Mozambique. The economic, social, and environmental conditions in Malawi are pretty dire as it ranks among the least developed countries in the world. The strong challenges faced by the government include developing a market economy, improving the educational facilities (total population has a 58% literacy rate, with women at less than 45%), environmental and ecological problems, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
From the latest estimates:
- A rapidly growing 16% of the population has AIDS.
- The average life expectancy is only 37 years.
- 45% of the population is under the age of 15.
- An estimated 5.2 children are born per woman, with a 12% infant mortality rate.
- More than 1/2 of the population is living below the poverty line.
These conditions are the result of very large and deep rooted problems that will take some time to improve, but the solutions will be greatly accelerated with education and literacy.
Malawi has been in the international news recently with millions of people living in famine conditions caused by reduced crop yields for the second year in a row.
Not everyone is able to do something like this, but everyone can participate in the missions in your own way with the gifts that you've been given. Please pray for my health, wellbeing, and motivation as well as for all missionaries throughout the world and the people of Malawi.
Any financial contribution that you can make will go a long way in the mission fields. The average annual salary in Malawi is less than $200. I will be living on a stipend of the equivalent of $60 per month.
In addition to your prayers and financial support, donating subscriptions of your favorite periodicals directly to the school will also be very helpful and appreciated. Your donated subscription of National Geographic, Good Housekeeping, Boys Life, Reader's Digest, Magnificat, or whatever you enjoy will be put in the library and be read by many, many students. If you are going to do this, please arrange to have the periodicals sent directly to the school at the following address:
Bakhita Education Complex
P.O. Box 62
Balaka, Malawi, Africa
Fund raising is a little difficult since the volunteer organization is based in Rome. In order to provide you with the tax benefits of donations to a non-profit organization, an account has been set up with St. Brigid's Catholic Church, which will collect all of the donations and provide a receipt for your tax records, if necessary.
Please make your checks payable to St. Brigid's VOICA Fund and mail it to:
St. Brigid Parish
4735 Cass St.
San Diego, CA 92109
If you would like to receive a receipt for your contribution, please complete the bottom section of the information sheet and attach it to your donation.
