For the first time in six years, UCBC hosted the International Justice Conference with UCBC law students and members of the International Association of Christian Jurists (AIJC). The gathering, which took place in March, was the sixth iteration of the conference and the joy at being together once again was evident. CI-USA board member, Christen […]
More than a diploma
More than a diploma
An air of intense expectancy and excitement charged the normally quiet late afternoon stillness and heat at Beni’s airport. The students of Université Chrétienne Bilingue du Congo (UCBC), together with faculty and leaders, had flocked to the airport awaiting a flight from Kinshasa with the university’s Rector, Dr. Honoré Bunduki Kwany. He stepped off the […]
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Kahasa Mulihavya
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Kahasa Mulihavya
In January 2023, Benediction Mulihavya Kahasa celebrated with her peers the launch of the academic year. Kahasa comes from Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu. She learned about UCBC through her brother who attends the university and spoke highly of the institution’s values and commitment to excellence. She wanted to study in an environment […]
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: David Bujiriri
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: David Bujiriri
Undoubtedly, the best part of working at UCBC is rubbing shoulders with the creative young changemakers who study there. I want to introduce you to one of these excellent young adults, David Bujiriri, or as he is called by his friends, Buj (pronounced “oo” as in boot). Buj is a junior computer engineering major from […]
Recent Insecurity and Violence in Eastern Congo
Recent Insecurity and Violence in Eastern Congo
On Wednesday January 25th, a bomb exploded in the Macampagne market in Beni injuring 17 people. Just a week earlier on January 15th, a bomb detonated during Sunday service at a Pentecostal church in Kasindi killing 15 people and injuring dozens of others. The village of Makugwe was also attacked. 23 people were killed and […]
JOIN OUR TEAM: COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
JOIN OUR TEAM: COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW: Congo Initiative is a global community of Congolese leaders and international partners united for the transformation of lives and a flourishing Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Congo Initiative USA invests in higher education, leadership development, and community transformation through our partner organization Congo Initiative – Université Chrétienne Bilingue du Congo (CI-UCBC) located in […]
Number of People Killed By Violence in Eastern Congo
Number of People Killed By Violence in Eastern Congo
Source: Kivu Security Tracker
Equip Educators, Transform Education
Equip Educators, Transform Education
With a desire to focus on faculty development and bring together a cadre of permanent staff highly committed to the vision of UCBC, UCBC launched an Advanced Studies Program (ASP) in 2016. The goal of this program is to financially and institutionally support 25 UCBC faculty and staff members to earn Masters and PhDs by […]
Taking wobbly steps together
Taking wobbly steps together
Have you ever seen a child take its first steps? Those wobbly, wide-eyed, arms-in-the-air steps that propel them from babyhood into the rest of their life? Imagine being a young parent in Beni, cautiously watching your first child take their first steps on the swept-clean dirt floor of your cement-brick home. The wonder, terror, excitement […]
2022 Advent Reflections
2022 Advent Reflections
[pdf-embedder url=”https://congoinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Congo-Initiative-2022-Advent-Reflections-1.pdf” title=”Congo Initiative – 2022 Advent Reflections”]
GIVING TUESDAY: EMPOWER THROUGH EDUCATION
Let Your Light Shine
Let Your Light Shine
Every person is given a lifetime opportunity to impact people and their community because we are all endowed by God with unfathomable potentials. At CI-UCBC, our commitment is to unleash every student and staff member’s potential to participate in creating thriving communities, a just society and a flourishing nation. As you go into the professional […]
SHAPING LAND REFORM FOR A MORE PEACEFUL CONGO
SHAPING LAND REFORM FOR A MORE PEACEFUL CONGO
Challenges with land policy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo date back to the late 19th century, when King Leopold of Belgium declared all “vacant land” in DR Congo as his own (Congo Free State), creating two parallel systems of land management: one system administered by the Belgian colonial authorities and the other established […]
When Women Rise
When Women Rise
Congolese women and children bear the brunt of the crippling effects of hundreds of years of colonialism, war, and exploitation. Socio-cultural norms that favor patriarchy exacerbate poverty, domestic abuse, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Violence against women has sadly increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, limited awareness and adherence to women’s […]
Introducing Congo Initiative – USA’s New Executive Director
Introducing Congo Initiative – USA’s New Executive Director
Dear Friends of Congo Initiative, On behalf of the board of directors of Congo Initiative – USA (CI-USA), we’re excited to share the result of our Executive Director search. After conducting an external search and interviewing a slate of three finalists, one of whom was our acting Executive Director, Justin Hubbard, we have confirmed Justin […]
2021 IMPACT VIDEO
2021 IMPACT VIDEO
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Merry Christmas from David and Kaswera Kasali
RESPITE, HEALING, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED (IDP)
RESPITE, HEALING, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED (IDP)
When Bethesda Counseling Center Director, Noé Kasali, was driving home one day, he saw three kids selling baskets on the side of the road. Noé stopped to purchase a basket for his home. As he spoke with the kids, he asked them where they were from. They responded, “We are displaced from the Oriental Province.” […]
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Social Impacts of Ebola in Congo: Panel Discussion with Texas A&M University
Social Impacts of Ebola in Congo: Panel Discussion with Texas A&M University
We are excited to share an insightful panel discussion about the Ebola outbreak and the Bethesda Counseling Center. Bethesda’s director Noé Kasali and Bethesda beneficiaries participated in a symposium facilitated by Glasscock Center and Scowcraft Institute of International Affairs Texas A&M University. The Symposium, The Long-term Impacts of Pandemics: Ongoing Disruptions to Societies, Families, and […]
Virtual Event
SEMINAR RECORDINGS: A REFLECTION ON AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY AND THE GLOBAL CHURCH
SEMINAR RECORDINGS: A REFLECTION ON AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY AND THE GLOBAL CHURCH
In January and February, we held a four-part seminar series to reflect and learn together with a host of CI friends who shared their wealth of experience in strengthening the church in Africa and beyond. Through this four-part seminar, we hope participants were equipped to meaningfully connect with their communities, to the African Church, and […]
What Gives Us Hope?
What Gives Us Hope?
A graduation at the Christian Bilingual University of Congo (UCBC) is always an emotional moment for Kaswera and me. Each year, we are overcome with joy as we celebrate the dedication of our courageous students, the perseverance of our gifted staff, and the faithfulness of all who support them – parents, community partners, and friends […]
Invest in the future of Congo
Invest in the future of Congo
This year, Congo Initiative (CI) celebrated 15 years of God’s faithfulness and the hope and resiliency of our community in Congo. We also celebrated your compassion and generosity as we continue to work together for the transformation of lives and communities in a part of the world often forgotten. 2020 was a disruptive year for […]
Together, we are writing a new story in Congo
Lesson 3: Stigmatization interferes with the joy of healing
Lesson 3: Stigmatization interferes with the joy of healing
Recently, I was taking a walk with my wife and our children when we heard men yelling from the top of a truck “corona, corona, corona!” My wife being an American, is perceived as a carrier of COVID-19. This one-time incident that I faced with my family is a daily occurrence in the lives of […]
Lesson 2: The power of community participation
Lesson 2: The power of community participation
At the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in August 2018, national and international experts were deployed in Beni to tackle the virus. Many of these people quickly started developing the narrative that people in Beni didn’t want to cooperate with the Ebola response. Bethesda carried out a survey around people’s perception of the Ebola outbreak […]
Hope for Africa
Hope for Africa
Is there hope for Africa? This question has shaped much of Dr. David Kasali’s life and work as an academic and theological thinker and his years of leadership experience across Africa. Come and hear why he believes that the answer is a resounding “yes!” Please join us online for our DR Congo Discussion Group on […]
Lesson 1: Grieving When You Can’t Say Goodbye
Lesson 1: Grieving When You Can’t Say Goodbye
At the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, accepting and coping with a whole range of social and cultural changes was devastating. People could not shake hands, hug, or touch one another. However, the hardest part of the Ebola outbreak for many people was the experience of “safe and dignified […]
Paluku’s Path to Freedom
Paluku’s Path to Freedom
On April 4th, 2019, high school student Paluku was walking home when he passed the local radio station in the rural town of Oicha. Out of nowhere, the station director came running out of the compound shouting “mwizi” [“thief” in Swahili], apprehended him, and took him to the local police where he stayed for a […]
Career Opportunity: Executive Director, CI-USA
Career Opportunity: Executive Director, CI-USA
Congo Initiative is an envisioned community of Christ-centered Congolese leaders and global partners united for the transformation of lives and a flourishing Democratic Republic of Congo. The mission of Congo Initiative USA is to promote Christian higher education, leadership formation, and community transformation in the DRC by providing financial and personnel support for Cl’s founding […]
Celebrating 15 Years: Kawa with Congo
Celebrating 15 Years: Kawa with Congo
Join Us! Please join your friends in Congo for a morning of coffee (“kawa”) and VIRTUAL (online) celebration on one of three Saturdays in September. Grab a cup of coffee or tea to enjoy during the celebration! You will have the opportunity to see and hear firsthand the impact Congo Initiative has made in eastern […]
A Message and Prayer of Hope
In Memory of Bob McAllister
In Memory of Bob McAllister
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF BOB MCALLISTER: April 21, 1925 – April 29, 2020 – Bob McAllister was a man dedicated to the call of God on his life and served along with his wife, Alma, as missionaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo for over 40 years. He was a man endowed with incredible tradesman skills and dedicated to the call of God on his life. Though he grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he was born in Philadelphia and served in the U.S. military during WWII.
… Read More →
CI-USA Leadership Transition Announcement
CI-USA Leadership Transition Announcement
After 12 remarkable years of outstanding, Christ-honoring, creative, and compassionate leadership, Cullen Rodgers-Gates (pictured), the Executive Director of Congo Initiative USA, is passing on the baton of leadership. On behalf of the CI-USA Board of Directors and the entire Congo Initiative family across the world, I want to express our profound gratitude to Cullen for […]
Why I Returned to Congo
Why I Returned to Congo
Developing sustainable businesses in eastern Congo is no small feat. A fragile infrastructure, ongoing insecurity, deadly outbreaks such as Ebola, and now the global pandemic makes business and even daily life in Congo hard. That is why UCBC alum, Butoto Mahinduzi, is not surprised when he is asked “Why did you come back to Congo?” […]
WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY
WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY
Congo Initiative stands in solidarity with the Black community and with protestors raising their voices calling for justice and an end to racism…. Read More →
Welcoming Our New Development Director
Welcoming Our New Development Director
It is with great joy and anticipation that we announce the hire of Shelly Johnston as Congo Initiative USA’s Development Director! This is a new position that has been created to expand CI-USA’s capacity in the ongoing cultivation and stewardship of partnerships with institutional and individual supporters. Shelly will be responsible for overseeing the design […]
We Are Together
We Are Together
We are together. This is a line Congo Initiative staff continue to repeat to one another during these uncertain times. Whether virtually or through our limited activities safely implemented to continue serving the community, we remind one another of our solidarity as we all face a world shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. For years, the […]
Expanding Women’s Influence Requires More Than An Education
Expanding Women’s Influence Requires More Than An Education
Like the rest of the world, we are learning together about what gender equality means and how we all play a part in achieving it. For many women in Congo, just getting to study at a university seems like an impossible dream. But what we have learned at UCBC is that just providing education isn’t enough to support women’s equal access to jobs, influence, and achievement of their dreams. They also need to know that their community will support them enough to take risks required for growth. Both men and women are necessary to make this happen…. Read More →
We are together
We are together
We want you to know that we as the Congo Initiative family are here for you. You are important to us, and while we won’t be aware of every single way in which your life has been affected by COVID-19, we know that it has undoubtedly touched you in some way. Please know that you […]
An Equal Congo is an Enabled Congo
An Equal Congo is an Enabled Congo
International Women’s Day on March 8th provides an important opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements while calling for greater equality around the world. This year’s theme, each for equal proclaims that an equal world is an enabled world. At Congo Initiative, we are committed to breaking down the barriers to gender equality in Congo. We stand […]
Alumni Spotlight: Eleazar Nzoera
Alumni Spotlight: Eleazar Nzoera
Eleazar Nzoera remembers the exact hour he lost his mother. It was January 1, 2011 at 11:00 pm. His mother was an inspiration to him…. Read More →
Bethesda: A Place of Healing
Bethesda: A Place of Healing
Germain was just two years old when his village in Oicha was attacked by rebels in 2017. As gunfire disrupted the otherwise peaceful community, he hid with his parents under their bed. Amidst the chaos and for fear that the attackers would enter their home, his mother placed Germain on her back and ran for […]
A Step Toward Healing & Restoration
A Step Toward Healing & Restoration
In August 2018, the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak struck eastern Congo and the Beni Territory. Since then, over 2200 people have died from the deadly disease. The outbreak, along with periods of insecurity and violence, has left many women, children, and men traumatized as they experience the loss of loved ones and witness the toll these threats take on their families and communities. But through your support and the Bethesda Counseling Center, they are finding ways to move forward. Bethesda journeys with those deeply affected by the Ebola outbreak as they take steps towards healing and restoration…. Read More →
Violence and Outbreaks Continue to Devastate Communities in Congo
Violence and Outbreaks Continue to Devastate Communities in Congo
Last week, over 50 people have been killed in the region of Beni. Meanwhile, though great strides have been made in the fight against Ebola, the virus remains a threat. In addition, a measles outbreak has claimed over 6000 lives throughout Congo. Though these horrific realities are not new to our community in Beni, we […]
A Deep Common Journey
Alumni Spotlight: Dieudonné Agaba
Alumni Spotlight: Dieudonné Agaba
The son of a teacher, Dieudonné Agaba (‘15) knew the importance of education from an early age. He also recognized the value of language …… Read More →
The Power of Team
The Power of Team
Our family sends our Christmas and New Year’s greetings to you as a friend, but more importantly, as a team member. Throughout our years of leadership, we have learned an important lesson – we can’t do it alone! We rely on the strength of a team…. Read More →
THE NEXT 500 IMPACT REPORT
Stand in Prayer with Beni: A Message from CI Co-Founder and President, David Kasali
Stand in Prayer with Beni: A Message from CI Co-Founder and President, David Kasali
Just a month ago, we asked you to stand in prayer for our CI community as we opened another academic year at the Université Chrétienne Bilingue du Congo (UCBC). God answered. We enrolled 155 new students [who joined 200 returning students] and celebrated as all of CI’s programs continued their crucial work of equipping transformational […]
Alumni Spotlight: Miché Lughembe
Alumni Spotlight: Miché Lughembe
Miché Kakule Lughembe studied Biblical Counseling and Psychology in the Theology Faculty at UCBC. He now serves as a pastor at a church…… Read More →
Alumni Spotlight: Anuarite Kahambu
Alumni Spotlight: Anuarite Kahambu
After graduating from secondary school and succeeding in the state exams, Anuarite Mathe Kahambu, set her sights on the next…… Read More →
CELEBRATING 15 YEARS!
CELEBRATING 15 YEARS!
In 2003, Congolese Christian leaders gathered as gunfire and mortar rounds echoed through the air on the outskirts of Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo. Together they lamented the historical and current violence and trauma suffered by Congolese communities. They asked how Christians–people of faith and committed to justice, hope, and peace–should respond to the suffering […]
Alumni Spotlight: Esther Lubemba
Alumni Spotlight: Esther Lubemba
Esther Lubemba (’19) shares her excitement on graduation day.
A NEW SEASON
A NEW SEASON
On August 3rd, over 50 students from Université Chrétienne Bilingue du Congo (UCBC) walked across the stage in Hope Chapel to receive their diplomas. Around 30 additional students will defend their theses and graduate by the end of September. As the community celebrated the incredible achievements of these future leaders, Congo Initiative (CI) and UCBC […]
EBOLA: A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
EBOLA: A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
On Wednesday, July 17th, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement declaring the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) “a public health emergency of international concern.” Over 1700 people have died since the outbreak first began just west of Beni nearly one year ago. After a case was confirmed in […]
NEWS AND UPDATES
NEWS AND UPDATES
One of the primary ways we share news and updates online is on our Facebook page. But, we understand not everyone uses Facebook and therefore we wanted to provide an easy way to stay updated. Therefore, we are pleased to share our News and Updates via Facebook Feed on this post. … Read More →
A Christmas Note
A Christmas Note
Dear Friends of Congo Initiative, As you gather with family and friends this week, Kaswera and I want to take the opportunity to wish you a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year. As a community united in Christ, we celebrate together the birth of Emmanuel – God with us. This year, however, we express our Christmas […]
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
“The population is so traumatized that everything for them is viewed through the lens of distrust of authority, physical insecurity, and the inability of the world to protect them. These viruses manage to exploit social vulnerabilities and fault lines. That’s what we’re seeing in this Ebola outbreak starkly.” Peter Salama, head of the World Health […]