Kaswera (or Kassie, as she’s known) trained as a nurse in Congo. While in Nairobi, Kenya, she got her diploma in Christian Ministries and Bachelor’s degree in Bible and Theology and received her Master of Religious Studies at Trinity in 1993. Upon David and her return to East Africa, Kassie served as a faculty member teaching in the Christian Ministries program at NEGST. She enrolled in the PhD in Educational Studies program at Trinity International University in 1998 and graduated in 2006.

Paul Robinson was born in the Belgian Congo as a son of missionaries, whose life has been profoundly shaped by a life-long personal and professional engagement with Africa. As a boy, he became a refugee, fleeing from advancing Congolese rebel militias. Years later, while completing high school in Kenya, he buried his father in Congo’s soil. With an insatiable need to understand the continent that bequeathed to his deepest pain and greatest joy, he earned both a MA and PhD from Northwestern University as a Fulbright Scholar in African History. He and his wife Margie then returned to Africa with St. Lawrence University, where they raised three children, and where for three decades he developed and led what became a premier international academic program for St. Lawrence University. During that time, he also developed and led varied university initiatives in Africa and designed, consulted, and evaluated development programs that addressed critical issues relating to poverty and human need – including a major response to the HIV-AIDS crisis. In 1999, he joined the faculty of Wheaton College as Professor and Director of the college’s Human Needs and Global Resources (HNGR) Program, where he served until 2013. He has and/or continues to serve on the boards of missions, advocacy organizations, and international organizations, participates in international development initiatives, and lectures and consults globally. His passion, heart, and professional life have centered on a broad range of development concerns, but particularly on the formation of young people for ethical and moral leadership in a rapidly changing global context. Deeply resonating with the authentic Congolese vision of Congo Initiative (CI) for responding to Congo’s desperate need, he accepted Dr. David Kasali’s invitation to become a founding member of CI, and has joyfully and enthusiastically served CI since its inception in 2003 in multiple capacities as consultant, scholar, teacher, board member, board chair, CEO/President, and most recently, Senior Advisor. In 2013, he took an early retirement from Wheaton College as Professor Emeritus, in order to give his full energies to the transformative vision of CI.

Daniel Masumbuko heard about CI-UCBC from its founder Dr. Kasali after they fled from Ituri because of ethnic war in 2001, and immediately saw the value of the vision and the impact it would have in transforming the nation. Since then and guided by faith, he has worked with CI-UCBC. He also serves as elder in the Brethren Church in Beni and served as Finance Director for many years at the Evangelical Medical Clinic of Nyankunde.

At CI-UCBC, Daniel serves as the Finance Director and Chaplain, and the Director of the Center for Church Renewal and Global Mission. In this last program, he and his colleagues  run reconciliation and trauma healing seminars in post conflict zones such as Ituri and Uganda. They are covering the Oriental Province and the Kivus in the DRC and also serve in Uganda and Rwanda with their sister organizations. Many lives and relationships have been restored as result of their work. At UCBC, he serves as a member of the Management Committee and contributes to the daily management of the institution. He holds an MA in Finance and International Trade from Herriot Watt University in the United Kingdom, and currently studies in the DMin program at Africa International University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Daniel is married to Claudine Masika Ndjadi since October 2, 1983. They have six children, two boys and four girls. Their oldest two daughters are married and have children of their own.

*In 2012, Daniel was honored as one of the Tanenbaum Peacemakers in Action finalists for 2012. The Tanenbaum Peacemakers in Action award recognizes the work of faith-based, local leaders who give of themselves to pursue peace and facilitate reconciliation in their communities.

For over fifteen years, Bethuel Kasali I has worked in management positions with various aviation companies and business enterprises. He received his degree in Economics at Université Libre de Kinshasa (ULK).  In addition, he holds a certificate in Marketing. Since January 2015, he has contributed to the transformation of the UCBC community by serving as an Administrator and Management Committee member. He is married to Nicole Ndekela and they have four children, including three sons and one daughter. Their daughter is married and has two sons.

Kasereka Katimika Vavasi was born in Katwa, North Kivu, DRC. He currently considers his hometown Butembo, North Kivu.

Katimika completed his primay studies at Vutetse in Butembo and focused on mathematics and physics in his secondary school at Katwa Institute in Butembo. He attended university in Bukavu/South Kivu for Physics and Technology. From there, he continued his studies in Physics and Technology and then graduate studies in Physics in 1985.

He is now serving at UCBC as Academic Dean for Research in charge of research, documentation and scholarship. He is married to Masika Kipuni.

Currently serving as Director of Faculty Development and Bilingual Affairs, Mary works with CI in Beni, D.R. Congo. Her entire career has been in education. She began as a classroom teacher, then worked over 20 years and a curriculum and staff developer with Project Adventure (MA), an experiential, adventure organization and a faculty development consultant to Radford University (VA). Prior to joining CI she worked as a Director of Professional Development then Director of Research and Development for the Association for Middle Level Education (formerly National Middle School Association). In these capacities she also managed program grants.

Mary attended Wheaton College then graduated from Gordon College with a B.A. in English.  She has an M. Ed. from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Mary has three grown children. When Mary is in the US, she lives in Westerville, OH.

Kate Shaw considers central Africa her long-time home, having grown up as an MK (missionary kid) in the region.  Alongside her husband Jonathan Shaw and their children Graham and Eliot, she treasures the opportunity to serve with colleagues and friends at CI/UCBC in Beni, and to see God’s kingdom flourish there.  For the past three years, Kate has devoted the majority of her work time to the establishment and growth of the Acadèmie Bilingue du Congo (ABC).  As UCBC’s primary school, ABC shares the vision for educational transformation in eastern DRC, starting with the youngest learners.  Kate is privileged to work with an excellent team of Congolese and international educators to provide high-quality, student-centered bilingual education prioritizing character growth as well as academic excellence.  She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Calvin College and continues to integrate her passion and experience in children and women’s health into her life and work in DRC.  She has worked both formally and informally in education as a nurse, and in early childhood education during her university years.

Jonas Kiningani Abhemuga was born in Aungba and is from Ndo-Kebu community in the Aru territory in Oriental Province. He studied theology at Institut Supérieur Théologique de Bunia (ISTB) and specialized in Christian Education and Youth at International Evangelization Center in Kinshasa. Initially devoted to the pastoral career, Jonas is passionate about teaching and helping youth. His skills and experience in communications propelled him to pursue a graduate degree in Information and Communication Sciences.

Jonas worked as the Director of Radio Tangazeni Kristo –RTK Bunia from 2004- 2011 in the Ituri Province and currently serves as the Director of Radio Television Bilingual (RTB) at UCBC since 2013. Since 2014, he has been affiliated with the National Press Union of Congo (UNPC) since 2014. He speaks French, Swahili, Lingala and English, which helps him get involved with the local communities in Beni and the surrounding territory. He is married to Marceline Desanges Kahindo and father of 7, including 5 daughters and 2 sons.

Daniel Masumbuko heard about CI-UCBC from its founder Dr. Kasali after they fled from Ituri because of ethnic war in 2001, and immediately saw the value of the vision and the impact it would have in transforming the nation. Since then and guided by faith, he has worked with CI-UCBC. He also serves as elder in the Brethren Church in Beni and served as Finance Director for many years at the Evangelical Medical Clinic of Nyankunde.

At CI-UCBC, Daniel serves as the Finance Director and Chaplain, and the Director of the Center for Church Renewal and Global Mission. In this last program, he and his colleagues  run reconciliation and trauma healing seminars in post conflict zones such as Ituri and Uganda. They are covering the Oriental Province and the Kivus in the DRC and also serve in Uganda and Rwanda with their sister organizations. Many lives and relationships have been restored as result of their work. At UCBC, he serves as a member of the Management Committee and contributes to the daily management of the institution. He holds an MA in Finance and International Trade from Herriot Watt University in the United Kingdom, and currently studies in the DMin program at Africa International University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Daniel is married to Claudine Masika Ndjadi since October 2, 1983. They have six children, two boys and four girls. Their oldest two daughters are married and have children of their own.

*In 2012, Daniel was honored as one of the Tanenbaum Peacemakers in Action finalists for 2012. The Tanenbaum Peacemakers in Action award recognizes the work of faith-based, local leaders who give of themselves to pursue peace and facilitate reconciliation in their communities.

Jessica Michelle Shewan joined Congo Initiative in Beni in 2013. She was captivated by CI’s vision of long-term transformation of Congo through leadership development and Christ-centered hope. Since August 2015, she directed the Center for Development and Partnership, and feels privileged to build relationships locally and internationally to realize and sustain the vision of CI. She also teaches courses on peace and conflict transformation at UCBC.

Originally from Indiana, USA, and before joining Congo Initiative, she earned a Master’s degree in International Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame. She also studied History and French at the University of Evansville. She has studied, worked, or taught in East and West Africa and in China.

Peter Kambale Amani has served as a pastor in a revival church in Oicha, a neighboring town to Beni, since 1985. His calling from childhood has been to minister to the voiceless and to be a voice for them. This led him to leave the mainstream church in his area and start a church that ministers to people who are rejected and/or stigmatized in their communities. Their church mission is founded on the principle of “Christ alone, Faith alone and Grace alone”.

The vision of CI-UCBC to transform young people to become agents of transformation in their respective communities has caught his heart and he joined CI-UCBC right from its inception in 2004. He was one of the members of CI-UCBC’s first board in 2007. Since then, he has served as president of the construction committee.

He was trained in the Kisangani Teacher Training College and earned his Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in African Culture. He also takes seminars in theology and has read extensively in church leadership and administration. He considers it a real privilege to be a part of such a compelling vision which trains prospective leaders who are transformed and ready to bring transformation in their communities and churches.

Cathy Kathungu Furaha is a lawyer at the provincial court of North Kivu and her interest is to defend human rights, particularly women’s rights. The North Kivu province has suffered an array of atrocities, especially abuse against women, and speaking for the voiceless has always been her deepest desire. She has successively served as governing board member in women’s promotion associations and organizations including The Association of Women Lawyers and HEKIMA, a micro finance organization that supports women for their survival. She joined CI-UCBC’s General Assembly because their interest to promote women through education. In fact, when she learned that 44% of students at UCBC are female, she considered it a wise investment in women’s promotion and thought it a privilege to serve. A new member since 2013, scholarships for women and other activities that promote women’s voices motivate her to support the CI-UCBC vision.

She has aBachelor’s Degree in Law from the Free University of the Great Lake’s Region (ULPGL) in Goma and has worked in the profession for twenty years. Through CI-UCBC, she became a member of the Christian Lawyer’s Association of Congo. Since 1997, Cathy has been married to Dr. John Kanyamanda and is the mother of four children: two boys (Jason and Paul) and two girls (Dinah and Joy).

Rose Kirere has a particular passion for health studies and community development work. After completing her training at the Nyankunde Nursing School, she went to the Nyankunde Nursing College, where she got my BA in Community Health and then went to France where she got a ‘Licence’ Degree in Local Development and a Master’s Degree in Cooperation Project. Her background has widely prepared her to appreciate how development and community transformation works. It was a joy for her when she first came in touch with UCBC leadership back in 2008, and they offered the opportunity to teach a class in Biblical Principles of Development.

Today, she is among the General Assembly members of the organization. She believes in the tremendous work of training prospective leaders who are ethically and intellectually prepared to change their challenges into opportunities. Rose is married to Professor Kirere and they are blessed with seven children, two boys and five girls. Of those children, four are adopted.

Obed Mukanirwa is a member of the CI-UCBC General Assembly since its beginning and continues to serve with the institution. He was a member of the construction committee, but now serves in Bunia, DRC as Samaritan’s Purse Mission’s Department Leader. There, he leads church planting in Congo and Uganda. He believes UCBC is an answer to many problems that the country and particularly the Kivus and Ituri District face. The vision of training transformed leaders to be the change thrills his heart.

He was trained as a pastor in a bible school in Aungba where he completed his studies in 1981. After that,he served as a high school chaplain in Oicha and was then appointed as teacher in a bible school by my denomination. He also studied at the mission’s school in Eldoret, Kenya and graduated in 1994. He is married to Helena Kathungu and they are blessed with seven children, but have experienced loss through the death of one.

Dr. Sadraka Kambale Soheranda lives in Oicha, thirty kilometers north of the City of Beni. He is a physician, working at Oïcha Hospital since 1983 and acting as the District medical Officer (Médecin Chef de Zone) for the Oïcha Health District (Zone de Santé). Since the beginning of CI-UCBC, he has been one of the members of the General Assembly. I also helps supervise UCBC finances.

After graduating as Medical Doctor from UNIKIN/Kinshasa in 1997, he joined the medical staff of the Centre Médical Evangélique – Nyankunde. He studied community health in developing countries and earned an MSc at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene/University of London (1979-1980). Afterwards, he earned a series of Diplomas: Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (University of London); Christian Leadership from Haggai Institute (Singapore, 1992); Management of Health Structures (Department of Commerce – Washington, D.C., 2004); Management of Health projects (University of Pretoria –S.A.-, 2006), and a number of certificates.

God has allowed him to serve in the CECA 20 Health Service at Oïcha Hospital. He is very grateful for his wife Nara and their five adult children (Nicole, Rosette, Priscille, Philippe and Mathilde) who have been very supportive, even during some very harsh living conditions. He appreciates the words of the Apostle Paul, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 3:13)

Oddy Tukeba Tshoto serves at the General Law Court of Beni as secretary to the Prosecutor since 1998, and was president of the first CI-UCBC board in 2007. Transforming lives to bring change in Congo is the calling of CI-UCBC that has won her heart for the cause and vision. Moreover, UCBC is a Christian school and it promotes Christian values as an alternative for social and radical transformation.

Oddy, a secretary who serves at the law court, has seen how women are looked down on and abused. CI-UCBC’s initiative brings women back to their initial position, that of life bearers and agents of peace in communities. She is more than convinced that advocating for women’s rights through training women to speak for themselves through deeds and words, as CI-UCBC does is the best thing for community transformation.”

She is a member of the Great Lake’s Women’s Right Program and Supervisor of SOPROP Goma in Beni, a local NGO that fights abuse and violence against women. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in French, with a Minor in Linguistics from the Bunia Teacher Training College.

Paul Tshihamba serves as the Vice President for Church Engagement for Congo Initiative-USA, after having spent 20 years as a pastor of missional engagement for two prominent US churches, Christ Presbyterian Church, Edina, Minnesota, and First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, California. Prior to joining the CI staff, Paul served on its board of directors for eight years, the last five as its chair. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, his ministry for the last two decades has had a distinctly global focus, while being deeply rooted in a local congregational context.

Paul’s formal education includes a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Presbyterian College in South Carolina. The son of an academic historian and a visual artist, he has a deep love and commitment to understanding the contextual and experiential aspects of missional engagement. His great passion in ministry has been, and continues to be, to connect the American church to the world through opportunities for global engagement. In addition to serving on Congo Initiative’s US board, he has also served as a member of the board of Global Strategies (a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that empowers communities in the most neglected areas of the world to improve the lives of women and children through innovative approaches to healthcare); The National Youth Leadership Council; and Daystar US. He is married to his life partner, Andrea, with whom he shares the deep privilege of being parents to four children: Joshua, Jacob, Charis, and Miriam.

Justin Hubbard first became involved with Congo Initiative in 2007, when he was invited to help implement UCBC. One year commitment turned into two, and then three. Each year he grew more and more passionate about the work of UCBC as he witnessed its impact in its first three years. In 2010, he returned to the U.S. to pursue a Master’s in Divinity and engage in theological reflection on topics such as ethics, race, identity formation, social and international policy.

He has remained committed to the important role education, particularly higher education, and non-profit organizations play in empowering individuals and supporting community development. Over the past two years, he worked with World View at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public service program that offers professional development in global education for K-12 and community college educators. Through his professional experience in various non-profit organizations, he learned the important role communications play in an organization’s ability to articulate itself and implement its mission and vision. He is very excited to return to Congo Initiative and support the work as communications and development associate.

Justin holds a Bachelors of Individualized Studies from the University of Minnesota, a Masters in Divinity and certificate in International Development Policy from Duke University, and currently looking to complete a certificate in Technology and Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Laura has worked in the nonprofit realm since graduating from Gordon College in 2007. She is particularly passionate about student development as well as grant research and writing. Her previous roles included serving as an Assistant Resident Director at Gordon College and a Volunteer and Service-Learning Coordinator at a community hospital. Laura first learned about Congo Initiative from board member, John David Bower and became more and more captivated with CI and its mission to educate and empower the next generation of Christ-centered transformational leaders for the flourishing of the DRC. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve as a Grants Assistant for CI and to learn from her sisters and brothers across the globe.

Laura lives north of Boston with her husband and their two little boys. She also enjoys serving on the leadership team of her local MOPS International group. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Youth Ministries and is currently working towards a Masters in Nonprofit Management at Northeastern University.

Dr. Barrett McRay serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of CI-USA.  He works at Wheaton College, where he serve as Chair of the Department of Christian Formation and Ministry, teaching historic pastoral care, counseling and ministry classes.  He is a licensed psychologist, serving as Clinical Director for a multidisciplinary mental health practice.  On several occasions during his early years, he had the opportunity to live in Palestine and Israel. Through these experiences, he became deeply interested and committed to the spiritual and psychological healing of conflict, trauma, grief, and guilt. He first became involved with Congo Initiative in 2007 when he was invited by the Kasali’s to visit DRC and participate in pastoral seminars in Adi and Butembo, then joined the board in 2008. In 2010, he returned to Congo to participate in a faculty development seminar for the faculty of UCBC.

Dr. McRay earned an M.A. in New Testament Studies and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College. He and his wife Sydney have three children and live in Wheaton Illinois.

Meredith Long was one of the first Board members of Congo Initiative and now serves as the Treasurer. His commitment to international work began as a child and deepened during his undergraduate studies at Wheaton College where he completed a BA in psychology and then an MA in communications.

In January 1977, Meredith and his wife Kendra left for Bangladesh. After language training, they moved to a rural area in northeastern Bangladesh to work as part of an international staff in an integrated development and health project and leprosy hospital. There, he began to experience the benefits and limitations of working in international organizations. He discovered that the physical and spiritual are not two different elements to be pursued separately but had to come together in a mission that is integral and not divided. He discovered that love expressed in friendship, compassion and mutual respect is essential to facilitating change.

After completing a Doctor of Public Health degree in Health Behavior and Education from the Gillings School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), he moved with his family of five to Kenya where they spent the next seven years living and working in Kenya. Later, he served with World Relief as the Director of International Health for ten years and now has spent over seven years in World Concern as the Senior Advisor for International Health and Integral Mission. As a reflective practitioner, he authored Health, Healing and God’s Kingdom from Regnum Press and the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, and, with Debbie Dortzbach, co-authored The AIDS Crisis: What We Can Do by Intervarsity Press. Meredith and Kendra have three children and six grandchildren, all of whom live within an hour’s drive of them in the greater Seattle area.

Meredith Joss lives in Massachusetts, where she was involved in the local education system for many years. She was the coordinator of a gifted education program for eight years and then became the assistant principal of a middle school, where she served for eleven years before retiring to care for her elderly parents. She attended Wheaton College (IL) and graduated with a degree in psychology. While living in Nairobi, Kenya, in the academic year, 1989-90, she took fifteen hours of graduate work at Daystar University focusing on African issues, including Journalism in Africa, Urbanization in Africa, Anthropology, and Small Group Communication in the African Context. She also took graduate work here in the US in public school administration. She has been married to her husband Rob for 46 years and they have three adult children and eight grandchildren. They mark everything in their lives as BK and AK–before Kenya and after Kenya. Her involvement with people from that part of the world has continued over these twenty-four years. Most recently, they have welcomed a Congolese woman and her children into their home for almost two years. They stand committed to be part of change in DRC, as well as, help refugees here. She also served as chair of her church’s missions committee for 15 years.

John David Bower has been a part of experiential programming and student life since he had the opportunity to participate in Honey Rock’s wilderness leadership practicum. Each position he held there involved teaching and discipling men and women, graduates and undergraduates, from universities around the world. He transitioned to seminary from HoneyRock to better answer students’ theological questions.  Since then, he had the privilege of learning from some of the finest programs and people in the Counsel of Christian Colleges and Univeristies while working with thousands of undergraduate students.

During his tenure as Associate Dean, Covenant gained a new president and navigated some serious financial challenges, improved RA training, overhauled the housing policy to better reflect the assets of Covenant and increase retention, worked at aligning the policies in the student handbook with current college practice, and created a faculty committee to collaborate on learning in the residential community and served on numerous other faculty and administrative committees.

Bowers first started praying for the Congo in the early 2000s as he became aware of the war and its aftermath.  In 2007, his family had a student in the residence hall whose family had been missionaries in the DRC, and the conversations were deeply impactful. Other events connected to Congo and learning about CI through Meredith Joss, led him and his wife to pray about the possibilities of working with CI in the Fall of 2009. They had a chance to meet both Honoré and David in 2010 and 2011.

However, after discovering they were to have a sixth child, they realized would not be able to travel to the DRC and the Lord has led John David into the Financial world with a Fortune 100 company. The Lord has brought opportunities to partner with various initiatives to build a marketplace ministry in Boston with the hope that, as businessmen humble themselves and pray, revival will come.

Howard Brown is the Director of Grants for Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute and Coordinator of the Non Profit Leadership Program. He has served on the CI USA Board for the past six years and has also had the opportunity to visit UCBC in Beni, DRC. As the son of missionary parents, he was raised in Kenya, where he developed a deep empathetic connection with the continent, its people and their struggles. He received an MA and PhD in African History from Indiana University and spent the next 11 years in Kenya with St. Lawrence University’s Kenya Semester Program, introducing American college students to issues of culture and development through experiential education. After moving back to the US 21 years ago, he served as the high school principal at Dade Christian School in Miami, FL before joining Clemson University in 2002. He has reconnected with and renewed his passion for Africa through his involvement with CI. What drew him to join the CI Board was the exciting prospect of being part of an authentic collaboration between the US and Africa, something new and different than a western dominated, paternalistic relationship familiar to many partnerships past and present. He found great joy and fulfillment in active board membership and has been able to contribute in significant ways by drawing on his experience in grant seeking and grant proposal development. In this capacity, he serves on the CI Board’s Development Committee. Howard and his wife live in Easley, SC, and have three adult children.

Ben Chappell is an attorney, living and practicing law in San Antonio, Texas for the past 35 years.  He has been married to his wife JoAnn for 42 years, and has three children and seven grandchildren who are collectively a huge part of his joy and passion in life.  His Christian journey is life long, and he has served in all phases of his local church ministries through the years, always including some role in teaching children’s classes. In his professional life, he is a board-certified family law attorney, and shareholder in the firm of Bray, Chappell & Patterson, Inc. in San Antonio.  In 2006, he completed a 30 year ancillary career as an Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate and has since that date been intentionally investing the gift of “returned time” to missions work.  A week of service in Chile in 2006 ended up connecting him with Dr. David Kasali and Congo Initiative.  Ben has served on the board of the San Antonio Christian Legal Society since the mid-1990s, and following visits by Dr. Kasali to San Antonio and the Christian Legal Society (CLS) chapter there, Ben and another San Antonio attorney participated in the initial Justice Conference at UCBC in 2008.  Following the 2008 conference, the San Antonio CLS chapter voted to pursue a journey of establishing sister chapter connections to groups of Christian lawyers in the eastern DRC region, leading to justice conferences in 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017. The lawyer teams have expanded to include representatives from Advocates International, International Justice Mission, and the law school faculties of Regent University and Uganda Christian University.

Ben comes to the CI board with a passion to support CI’s ongoing justice initiatives, and with a long-term commitment to see the rule of law and human rights issues in Eastern DRC transformed by the grace and power of God.

John grew up in rural Arizona on a cattle feedlot and farm. He graduated from the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, served in the Navy, and returned to the University of Arizona to study law. After law school graduation, John practiced law in Phoenix, focusing on personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, insurance, and commercial disputes. In 2001 John was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, where he served until he retired on June 30, 2016. John and his wife, Linda, are active members of Moon Valley Bible Church in Phoenix. John has served as a member of the Board of Elders, including several years as chairman. In 2008 John was introduced by email and telephone to attorney Ben Chappell of San Antonio, who had attended the initial justice conference of local lawyers and judges at UCBC in Beni, Congo. When the time came to begin planning for the 2010 justice conference for Christian lawyers and judges in Eastern Congo, Ben invited John to join the effort. John assisted in planning and participated in the justice conferences in 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017. John is inspired by the vision cast by Dr. David Kasali for Congo Initiative and UCBC and also by the light in the eyes of the students at UCBC and the commitment of local lawyers and judges to pursue a rule of law and greater justice for people in Congo. John and Linda are blessed with two wonderful daughters, two great sons-in-law, and three amazing grandchildren.

Kasereka was born in Oicha/Beni, DRC and grew up in Congo. His secondary and university studies took him in different parts of DRC. While pursing his studies in Engineering and Chemistry, for political reasons the government closed down the university. It remained closed for many months, allowing him to join Campus Crusade for Christ, as a trainee, then trainer and vice-director of the Goma Great Commission Training Center. This center served the church in Eastern DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Western Uganda.  He later went on to study in Kenya where he earned a bachelor of theology (BTH). After serving as Itinerant Evangelist for CECA-20 Highs Schools for two years, Kasereka went to study at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, where he earned a MA in Intercultural Studies, with an emphasis on Cultural Anthropology. Kasereka completed his PhD in Cultural Studies at Claremont Graduate University. His dissertation title was “Creation and Maintenance of Culture of Violence in Eastern Congo.” Kasereka argued that the extreme violence in Eastern Congo is manufactured to allow an easy exploitation and looting of Congolese natural resources. To borrow from Toussig, the war in Eastern can be understood as a “commoditization of violence.”

Kasereka is the Senior Pastor of the “African Christian Community Church of Southern California” (ACCCSC) that he, his wife and family, and several other friends planted from 2001. ACCCSC is part of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and reaches out to the immigrants from French speaking countries and different communities in the heart of Los Angeles and its vicinities.

Kasereka’s heart is still in the DRC. In 2008, he helped start “Sons of Congo” (SOC) a ministry that reaches out to men in violence ravaged areas of Eastern Congo. Since he was in charge of creating a curriculum and writing lessons for SOC, Kasereka has travelled so many times to Congo for the last 8 years. While in DRC, he gets to visit CI work in Beni, and he is always marveled by what CI is accomplishing in DRC. It is a privilege for him to be part of the CI-US Board.

Margaret Mwenda is an immigrant from Kenya living and working in the United States. She was born and raised in Kenya and went through the Kenya educational system and received her undergraduate degree in education. She immigrated to the USA in 1992 to pursue a Master’s degree and returned to Kenya in 1996 to serve at the Africa Nazarene University – a private Christian university, whose mission was to provide an education that developed students intellectually, spiritually, and morally. In 2003, together with her family, she moved to the USA where she pursued a PhD in Educational Policy and Leadership. She now lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in Michigan, where she teaches in the College of Business at Davenport University. For her, being invited to serve as a board member of the Congo Initiative -USA was a natural extension of what she aspires – to serve students directly or indirectly. Having been given much by her family and the institutions that she has worked for and attended, she wants to share with others all that she has learned and been blessed with. Someday, when her children are all grown and settled into their lives, she plans on continuing to serve as an educator in Kenya and on the African continent.

I love Congo Initiative. I served on the US board from 2008-2011. This is an organization that stands in the face of war, poverty, injustice, and trauma and believes in the power of God and His community to bring about transformation on a personal, national, and international level!

My personal contribution to the board derives from a confluence of factors. My work as a missionary in Mali, West Africa, and continued travel throughout Africa in ministry, has given me a love for and commitment to Africa, as well as God’s work in and through that extraordinary continent. Second, my husband and I have been involved in urban ministry in the U.S., and active in areas of racial reconciliation and refugee resettlement. I am committed to the Church universal and the Church diverse. Third, I am academically prepared to minister in areas of mental and physical health, and am very excited by the high value of biblical shalom in the Congo. Fourth, as a member care provider, I am interested in the whole health of the organization’s leaders and teams. Finally, my own personal life experiences have given me a longing to support others in the area of personal and community healing and restoration.

Arnila was born and raised in Indonesia. She has a B.A. in anthropology and an M.A. in theological studies from Wheaton College. After Wheaton Arnila worked for two NGOs (Development Associates International and Mission Aviation Fellowship) before going to graduate school at American University for another M.A. in International Relations with a focus on conflict resolution. She currently works as a Foreign Affairs Officer with the Department of State’s Office of Europe and Asia, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

Arnila spent two months in the DRC as a research fellow with Congo Initiative during her time as a graduate student at American University. She spent that time teaching a theology class, conducting her MA thesis field research, and getting to know students and volunteers at CI. She is looking forward to joining the board at a time when CI is growing in new and interesting ways and becoming an important and impactful force in the DRC context. She hopes to lend any expertise and networks she has to further the development and growth of Congo Initiative.

Ian Grant began his current ministry as Pastor of Armagh Baptist Church in May 2009. Prior to that, he served as Director of SIM (Serving in Mission) in Ireland from 2005 to 2009.

He commenced his ministry as Assistant Pastor in Portadown Baptist Church in 1989. He was then Pastor of Mullaghmeen Baptist Church in Co. Fermanagh for five years, part of which he did alongside a job as a science technician in Fivemiletown High School. During this time, he got involved in planting Cavan Baptist Church in the Republic of Ireland, which he then pastored for another ten years from 1995-2005.

He studied at the Irish Baptist College in Belfast from 1986, graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity (Honours) degree from Queen’s University Belfast in 1990. During his time with SIM, he completed a Masters in Theology from University of Wales, Lampeter. The dissertation from this degree was published as a book in 2008 entitled The Missionary Vision of the Irish Church: where do we go from here? (Tentmaker Publications). The book explains the rationale behind the setting up of iMap (Irish Mission Agencies Partnership) in the Republic of Ireland. He served as Chairman and Trustee of iMap from its inception until October 2010.

He is married to Judith, a primary school teacher, and has three children: Peter (18), Jenny (16), and Michael (12), who are all currently studying at The Royal School, Armagh.

Eric Clarke is currently the Christian Blind Mission Country Manager for Northern Ireland. His first professional qualification was in Environmental Health, becoming a Member of the Institute of Environmental Health and Member of the Royal Society of Health.

Following God’s call to use his musical gift, he joined the staff of the Movement for World Evangelisation as soloist. Following ten years in this work, he studied Financial Services and worked in the profession for 15 years, developing his own financial consultancy practice.

He joined the Council of Belfast Bible College, which he chaired for three years. He also joined the Board of Christian Ministries, an umbrella organisation overseeing the ministry of three former colleagues–John Blanchard, Peter Anderson, and Derek Cleave. He has been the Chair for twenty years. From 2001-2012, he was on the Board of Prison Fellowship (NI) and acted as Hon. Treasurer.

In 2008, he became a Trustee of the Christian Fellowship Trust, a small but significant organisation in helping as ‘start-up’ supporters of new initiatives for the Kingdom of God. Following retirement from Financial Services, he joined Christian Blind Mission in 2008 and will be retiring in March 2016. God has doubly blessed him with a second wife, Helen. My first wife, Sally, passed away 27 yrs ago. They celebrated 25 years of marriage in May 2015. She has been a wonderful support and encouragement to all his ministry.

Dr. Olufemi Akinlabi was raised in Lagos, Nigeria. His dad was Muslim while his mother was Christian. Though he attended mission primary and secondary schools, he was raised Muslim. He grew up seeing his mother attend church (African Church Mission). He qualified as a medical doctor in Nigeria in 1990. After periods of compulsory post-qualification postings and years of working in Nigeria, he left for Lesotho in 1999. While there, he was employed in a Christian Mission hospital, Maluti Adventist Hospital in Mapoteng. It was in Mapoteng that he met Jesus Christ and gave his life to the Living God.

He came to Ireland in 2003 to join his family and also continue work in his field of study. His family lives in Cavan and are members of the local church, Cavan Baptist Church. He has served in the Church as a Deacon and as Church Secretary, and was recently elected into Eldership. Olufemi is married to Olufunke since 1993 and their marriage has been blessed with two girls who are in college in Dublin and a boy in secondary school.