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… Read More
TESTIMONIALS
Please take a moment to read these stories of transformation and see why the work of Congo Initiative matters.
Ginette–“I treat everyone like family”
Ginette recently graduated from UCBC’s Agribusiness program. She now works with MAVUNO, a nonprofit that is pioneering a model of grassroots agribusiness development in Congo. As a consultant, Ginetteworks with farmers and trains them in agribusiness practices. Ginette dreams of establishing her own business that will specialize in training Congolese… Read More
Kavira Matofali: “I learned who I am.”
“I came to understand that when God decides to bless you, no one can block what He has decided.” These words from Kavira Matofali Mélanie serve as a reminder of God’s sovereignty and grace. Kavira is a student in the Electronic Engineering department of Applied Sciences at UCBC. As one… Read More
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… Read More
Virtual Event
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,… Read More
Together, we are writing a new story in Congo
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
