In December, the DILAO District and the Lwanga District are preparing to celebrate the perpetual vows of several Brothers of the Christian Schools. They are Brothers Judes Traore, Jean Touma and Gérard Ouedraogo for the DILAO District and Brothers Emmanuel Aondohemba Tyokase and Ontita Aron for the Lwanga District.
DILAO District
Brother Gérard Ouedraogo was born in 1994 in Kamsé, a village in the Kuilsé region of Burkina Faso. He is the eldest of seven children.
He started secondary school in September 2008 in Kongoussi, at what is now the Collège Lasallien, where he met the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He finally obtained his high school diploma in 2015 at the Municipal High School in Kaya. Between October 2013 and May 2015, Brother Gérard was involved in the diocesan JEC in Kaya (Jeunesse Étudiante Catholique).
He entered the Postulancy on 9 September 2015, and in September 2016 he entered the Notre Dame de Grâce Novitiate in Bobo-Dioulasso. On 13 June 2018, he took his first vows along with 15 other young people from French-speaking Africa. From September 2018 to July 2019, Brother Gérard had a community experience at La Salle Badenya in Ouagadougou. He was then sent to Nairobi, Kenya, for the Scholasticate (August 2019-May 2023). In addition to his religious formation, he was a student at the Christ Teacher Institute of Education at Tangaza University College, affiliated with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He obtained a degree in Education Sciences with a specialisation in Biology and Computer Science.
Since August 2023, Brother Gérard has been in Diébougou, at the Collège Pierre Kula, where he serves as bursar for the community and the school. He also teaches computer science and religious reflection.
When he decided to make a definitive commitment to the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Brother Gérard said that he had taken to heart the words of the Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of the Christian Schools: “The Mighty One has done great things for me” (Lk 1:49) “I surrender myself to God’s will for me”.
Brother Judes Traore was born in 1991 in Mounakoro, Burkina Faso, the seventh of eight siblings.
After attending the Collège Charles Lwanga in Nouna, run by the Brothers, he completed his secondary education at the Collège de Tounouma, also run by the Brothers, from 2013 to 2015, obtaining his baccalaureate in philosophy and arts.
He began his vocational journey by participating in various youth camps organised by the Brothers during the holidays. As a young member of the Foyer Saint Miguel, after obtaining his high school diploma, he was sent to Niger for his postulancy in the community of the Brothers of Issa Beri in Niamey during the 2015-2016 school year. In September 2016, he began the second phase of his formation at the Notre Dame de Grâce Inter-African Novitiate in Bobo-Dioulasso from 2016 to 2018, which concluded with his first vows on 13 June 2018.
After his formation at the Novitiate, he was assigned to the College of Tounouma for an apostolic experience from 2018 to 2019 as section leader. From the College of Tounouma, Brother Judes was sent to the Scholasticate in Nairobi, Kenya, for religious formation and academic studies at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa at Tangaza College from 2019 to 2023, where he obtained a BEd-Arts (Bachelor of Education and Arts) with a major in English literature.
Since August 2023, he has been a member of the Brothers’ community in Toussiana, where he serves as bursar for the community and the school. He also teaches English and conducts courses in religious reflection.
For Brother Judes, the source of his strength “lies in prayer, personal meditation and the Eucharist”. “The Brothers of my community,” says Brother Judes, “my co-workers and my family are also inexhaustible sources of fraternal communion for my human and spiritual growth.” For this reason, the Brother continues, “in my definitive yes to God, I give thanks for the gift of life and for all the graces that have been granted to me: ‘Everything must be done for the glory of God’ (1 Cor 10:31)”.
Brother Jean Touma was born on 31 December 1990 in Lotogou, Togo, in the savannah region.
His vocational journey began with his participation in vocational camps organised by the Brothers. He entered the Postulancy in Togoville in 2015 and did his Novitiate in Bobo Dioulasso from 2016 to 2018, at the end of which he took his first vows on 13 June 2018. He continued his religious and pedagogical formation at the Scholasticate in Abidjan from 2018 to 2021, obtaining a degree in Education and Training Sciences.
Brother Jean began his first experience of active apostolic community life in the community of Tami, where he will spend four years at the Rural Training Centre from 2021 to 2025; “an experience full of joy in the service of the poor in this peripheral work,” recalls Brother Jean, “peripheral in a geographical sense and peripheral in an existential sense.” He is currently in the community of Lomé, where he has been attending the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, specialising in history and archaeology, since September 2025.
A native of the parish of Saint Jean-Baptiste in Lotogou, diocese of Dapaong, he is full of joy and gratitude to God for calling him to the lay religious life. “At the end of these years of commitment,” says Br. Jean, “I am preparing to give myself completely to God forever. I feel called to live a life of prayer, service and self-giving, following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, Jesus Christ and imitating St. John Baptist de La Salle in the Lasallian educational mission and in the universal Church.”
The motto he has chosen for his perpetual confirmation is “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). “It is a way to put Jesus first in my life and mission,” concludes Br. Jean.
For the Brothers of the DILAO District, the ceremony will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de l’Immaculée Conception de Ouagadougou on 12 December 2025. Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo will preside over the solemn ceremony, in the presence of Visitor Brother Rodrigue Toeppen on behalf of the Superior General.
Lwanga District
Brother Emmanuel Aondohemba Tyokase was born on 1 March 1984. He attended the federal nursery and primary school in Gboko from 1989 to 1997, then continued his studies at St. John’s Day Secondary School in Gboko from 1997 to 2003 and studied at Tangaza University in Nairobi from 2018 to 2024, obtaining a degree in Education Sciences, Geography and Christian Religious Education.
His journey towards religious life began with his postulancy in 2014-2015 at Naka, in Benue State, followed by his novitiate in 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. He made his first religious profession in 2017 at the De La Salle Brothers’ International Novitiate in Karen, also in Nairobi, Kenya.
As for his pastoral experience, he served as a catechism teacher first at Don Bosco Boys Town, Karen Nairobi, Kenya (2016-2017), then at La Salle College in Naka, Benue State, and St. Joseph Ondo Parish (2015).
Brother Emmanuel was also a career guidance facilitator and counsellor at Kiety Nursery and Primary School in Nairobi (2016). He then served as a teacher in various years, both in primary and secondary schools: Gogar Rongai Nakuru Primary School, Kenya (2017); Our Lady of Mercy Girls’ Secondary School, Nairobi, Kenya (2022), Mt. La Salle College, Naka, Benue State (2023-2024); teacher/bursar at La Salle Primary School, Naka, Benue State (to date).
His hobbies include listening to music, playing sports, and watching films and TV series.
“I joined the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools on 25 October 2014 and took my first religious vows on 8 July 2017 at the De La Salle International Novitiate in Karen, Nairobi. My motto for perpetual profession is: ‘Your vows are a light, let them shine in the world‘. I was deeply inspired by the words of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta about doing simple things in an extraordinary way and by Pope Francis’s essentiality in stating that the most important things to remember in a human being’s life are the words: ‘Please, thank you, sorry, forgive me’.”
Her perpetual vows will be pronounced on 18 December 2025.
Brother Aron Ontita Mboga, Kenyan, was born on 16 September 1987. He finished high school in 2008. He then obtained a diploma in Business Management from the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), Kisii Campus, before attending Kilimambogo Teachers Training College, where he obtained a certificate in primary school teacher training. After teaching for about a year, he entered the Postulancy in Karemeno, Nyeri, in 2014. Here he had the opportunity to gain some brief community experience at St. Paul’s School in Marsabit.
In 2016, he entered the Novitiate, during which time he was able to gain further community experience at Mwangaza College in Nakuru until May 2017. “I then returned to the Novitiate in preparation for my first vows, which I took on 8 July 2017,” says Brother Aron.
Brother Aron then attended LaSalle Catholic School in Nairobi for a year, where he worked as a full-time teacher thanks to his experience in primary education. After a year, he enrolled at Tangaza University College (now Tangaza University) to pursue a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science in October 2022.
“I was then assigned to La Salle Catholic School, where I worked for six months,” continues Brother Aron, “in December 2022, I was transferred to La Salle School in Karemeno, where I worked as a full-time teacher for two years until December 2024.” In 2024, he was transferred to Rongai Boys’ High School as Principal, a position he still holds today. Brother Aron is also a member of the Sector Council of Kenya.
“In dedicating my life forever, I am reminded that God continues to call, continues to love, and continues to send ordinary men to do extraordinary works. My life is a silent miracle: teaching minds, touching hearts and revealing God’s tenderness in every young person entrusted to me,” said Brother Aron, commenting on the celebration of his perpetual vows, which will take place on 6 December at Rongai Boys High School, where he currently teaches and is the Principal.