This week, our hearts are heavy for the people of Beni. 

On Sunday morning, there was an attack on the Ngadi village, just one kilometer north of the UCBC campus. It was reportedly carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, which brought violence painfully close to the UCBC community. The attack took the lives of 16 people, including 15 civilians and one soldier. It is believed that the attack was in response to a joint operation of the Congolese and Ugandan armies, which have been battling ADF in the border region of the two countries.

This is the first attack in Beni in over three years; however, there has been a resurgence of killings across North Kivu and Ituri throughout this year. Meanwhile, this is the same area where a new strain of Ebola has been spreading since mid-May. 

At times, the violence in eastern Congo can sound distant or abstract to us here in the United States, but it is neither for our students, faculty, and staff. 

The students at UCBC are not unfamiliar with suffering. Many come from communities directly affected by armed attacks. Some have family members living in vulnerable neighborhoods. Others carry memories of displacement, loss or interrupted schooling. When violence erupts nearby, the classroom does not become less important—it becomes essential. It becomes a place where courage is practiced, where hope is protected and where the next generation is equipped to serve and lead with wisdom and compassion.

Faculty and staff continue teaching, mentoring and leading while also caring for their own families and neighbors. The work requires more than academic preparation. It requires courage. Faculty and staff demonstrate that fear does not get the final word.

This attack appears to have targeted a particularly vulnerable indigenous and marginalized ethnic group, the Twa. In the coming days and thanks to support from partners like you, the university will mobilize chaplains, pastors and counselors to provide grief and trauma counseling for affected families and community members, while also organizing relief packages and essential resources for those displaced or facing immediate hardship. This response reflects the heart of UCBC’s mission and reminds us why supporting UCBC matters. When crisis strikes, UCBC is not simply a university nearby; it is a community that responds, accompanies and serves, embodying resilience and care even in the face of violence and uncertainty.

We grieve with those who lost loved ones and pray for those living in fear, including our own students and faculty who are continuing forward with courage. UCBC remains a place of learning, faith and hope in the heart of Beni. As partners and friends of UCBC, we are invited to stand closer, not with simple answers but with sustained prayer, generosity and solidarity.

Please join us in supporting UCBC in moments like these in any way you’re able. It enables the university to remain a beacon of hope and a source of tangible support for communities facing profound challenges.