Students Lead Community in Creation Care
Students in our "Creation Care and the Common Good" class have published an online article about their learning and steps being taken at UCBC to care for the environment. Read it here!  Also, we are pleased to announce that CI-UCBC has recently been awarded a grant in support of a creation care initiative to be established at UCBC next year.
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Dear Friends and Partners,
UCBC's faculty members are examples of Christian ethics and morality. They are people of integrity and truth. Because UCBC's approach to education is unique in DRC, the university has committed to bringing on board young teachers who embrace UCBC's vision for teaching and learning and providing faculty development and support to nurture their abilities as excellent teachers. UCBC is intentional in developing faculty members who are not only of high moral and ethical standing and practice, but are highly skilled teachers.
However, as a young institution with limited permanent faculty, UCBC is beholden to the Congolese university convention of contracting with visiting professors who come to UCBC for one to two weeks and deliver long lectures to large classes, leaving no time for investing in the lives of students. These visiting (itinerant) professors are not necessarily Christian, nor are they committed to UCBC's integrated Christian worldview. Moreover, their approach to teaching and learning is often not as inclusive of innovative and participatory methods that are the hallmark of a UCBC education.
Unlikely Ambassadors
And yet, UCBC is having an impact even on these short-term teachers. After such a short time on campus, they are able to testify to the uniqueness and high caliber of UCBC's students. They quickly recognize that there is a different spirit on the UCBC campus and in the surrounding community than is typically found in Congolese universities. These visiting faculty who come from all over the country--even from Kinshasa (over 1000 miles away!)--expect to teach their courses and carry on as usual. But as they leave Beni for the next university, they will carry the experience and story of UCBC with them. And so the story will be told, and told, and told again. All over DRC. What is the story they will tell? It is a story about education being done in a new way, with a focus on service and ethical leadership, with hope for a future DRC marked by peace and justice.
Indeed, students are not the only people at UCBC who are "being transformed to transform."
For a recent story that poignantly illustrates this, read CI staff member Mary Henton's recent blog post.
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Leaders' Working Retreat
Currently, CI-UCBC faces several critical short- and long-term needs as an institution that require focused attention. As stewards of CI-UCBC's vision and in an effort to be faithful to this calling, the UCBC Management Committee (administrative leadership) has decided to embark on a 4-day working retreat next week. They will be away from Beni in order to give themselves fully to the prayer, discussion, and planning that are needed to lead CI-UCBC through its next season.
We ask you to join us in two ways:
1. PRAY for safe travel, wise decision-making, and tangible outcomes to address current challenges and opportunities.
2. MAKE A GIFT to help us meet the costs of this working retreat. Total costs are $4,500, which include all transportation, food, and lodging expenses. Thank you for standing with us!
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In April of this year, 
