Saturday, June 14, 2014

Brief Witness

We are here to abet Creation and to witness it, to notice each thing so each thing gets noticed . . . so that Creation need not play to an empty house.  Annie Dillard
 A reminder to sit, observe, and be.

As I sat in the quiet of the early morning onThursday, I noticed a spot of red against the green wall of cassava that edges the property. I tip-toed cautiously through the wet grass (the previous night's dinner discussion focused on East Africa's snakes) and came upon a lone blossom.

It leaned like a wounded warrior in the no-man's land between shamba (veggie garden) and lawn.

Today, three days later, even as Jackson cuts the grass to submission, the flower still stands and greets from afar. 


Friday, June 13, 2014

Campus Conversations: Day 3. Exposé and Work Program

Elikia presents in French (L)
as Pacifique translates (R) 
Following Wednesday’s English classes (May 21), the student body and staff gathered for and Exposé entitled, “Community Engagement for Creation Care: Case Studies from the Region.” Elikia presented information about DRC’s forests and the role of agro-forestry. Joel talked about his work in community waste management in Goma. Both men captured the attention of students. As Congolese, Joel and Elikia know first-hand the opportunities and challenges of capturing the imagination of their countrymen and women to engage in environmental stewardship. 

In addition to attending English classes and Exposé each Wednesday, students conduct their work program activities on Wednesday. Every student spends two hours in manual work (cleaning, sweeping, cutting grass, trimming shrubbery, emptying trash) each week, as part of his or her tuition commitment. Work program also reminds students of their responsibility to serve and continue in physical work, regardless of their diploma, degree, or community position.

Rachel meets with students
Work program during Campus Conversations gave students a break from their labors. Each work program team met with one of the visiting guests to explore specific topics related to the week’s theme. One group met with Rachel to examine the shelter, sanitary, water, and farming needs of the local neighborhood. Another group met with Ben and UCBC’s construction and mechanical engineer to discuss renewable energy solutions. Kahi gathered another group to talk about the role of art in teaching and cultivating an appreciation for nature.

Grace, Ben, Saraphin (L to R)
As happened throughout the week, there were surprises and unexpected outcomes. Among them: Creation Care Volunteers. This volunteer group formed to organize education and waste clean-up activities in town and on campus. Saraphin and Grace, two applied sciences students, started developing a Creation Care website to post information and resources (as of this writing, they are looking for the best place and way to host the site).

Then there were the rolling conversations and impromptu meetings as students, staff, and faculty came forward with ideas, concerns, and stories of activities-in-progress:
Ben meets with a faculty
member and students
Joel offers advice to a student
  • A team exploring how to develop a business around safe disposal of technological waste.
  • A teacher who has been trying to educate his family about protecting nature.
  • A local group of students and community members who, since 2007, have been helping a local market area to manage its trash, at the same time educating people about the importance of keeping water clean. The group also supports local youth athletic teams. Oh, and they do this all out of their own, personal funds.
  • UCBC’s own efforts to commit to a solar solution for power needs.
Before the week of Campus Conversations began, several people asked how I was feeling about the week—if I felt that our plans were secure and in place. I answered, “Our planning team has done its best. It’s in God’s hands now. Will the week go the way Mary wants it to go? No. It will go the way it’s supposed to go. The week will be what it needs to be.”

And it did. And it was. (But there’s still more to share!)



Creation Care Volunteers begins to organize itself

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Campus Conversations: Day 3 - English classes

Nono Ilyempo
Because UCBC's English classes meet every Wednesday and Saturday, they provided opportunity for all students to engage in conversations with our guest experts and facilitators. Nono Ilyempo and Kambere Kahindo (Kahi) joined the team of experts and facilitators on this day. Nono, a UCBC graduate in communications, hosts a local radio program on environmental matters. Kahi is a local artist with a passion to employ art to cultivate appreciation for the natural world and teach about our responsibility to care for it.
Discussions ranged widely across the six English classes. One class considered personal responsibility towards creation and came to the realization that human welfare and the environment are inextricably linked. In a beginning level class, students developed a list of new English words (e.g., sustainability, pollution, climate change). Their teacher later explained, "The new vocabulary helped students during the week. They had direct experience with new words and phrases to help them in other activities. On Scientific Day [held on Friday], students had could follow the presentations because they knew the vocabulary." Another class discussed the significance of communication to sensitize a community to issues of climate change, pollution, and personal responsibility. 

Virunga Park extends along the border
between DRC and Rwanda (Goma)
and DRC and Uganda (north of Beni)
One of the advanced English classes explored the intersection of population growth, economic development, and protection of natural resources. This particular hot button popped up several times during the week, as conflicts in and around Virunga National Park flare from time to time. Virunga, just outside Beni territory, extends along North Kivu’s east border. The park is Africa’s oldest national park. Many people trace landholdings back before there was a national park. Livelihoods depend on access to land for farming. Conservation and human survival often clash with dire consequences. Modern technology and oil-based economies add to the pressures, as deep-pocket businesses maneuver for drilling rights in the park. With these conflicts just next door, many people in the UCBC community are keenly aware of the challenges. Many have been directly affected.

English classes provided space for teachers to question, ponder, and critique alongside their students. One teacher commented, "It was captivating. I never thought about my responsibility from a biblical perspective." Another stated, "I want to organize a conference in our church. I want the youth to know God beyond the walls of the 'temple.' The Creator is in His nature and sees us in His creation."

New vocabulary words

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Campus Conversations: Day 2

Tuesday’s activities (May 20) centered around workshops with non-teaching staff. Approximately 25 technical staff (mechanics, carpenters, and ground crew) met with Joel, Elikia, and Ben for sessions on workplace safety, water protection, and managing waste. Faculty and administrative staff often partake of workshops and professional development events, but technical staff have fewer opportunities. One of the strengths of Campus Conversations  was a range of activities to include the entire UCBC community.

Musabao, UCBC driver/mechanic
As educators, we pay attention to “unexpected outcomes”—those nuggets of new knowledge or ideas that pop up and surprise. Several unexpected outcomes popped up from this workshop.

For one thing the grounds crew expressed a desire for a snake guide to help identify venomous snakes. Generally, crew members kill any snakes they encounter. But Elikia and Ben explained the role snakes play in the eco-system, keeping rodents and other “critters” in check.

The team wanted to understand other workplace risks—basic safety matters that generally go unexplained. They were concerned about the dangers of chain-saws, hoes, and machetes, and identified the need to take appropriate steps for protection. Was this creation care? At first I didn't think so. It seemed to me that safe use of tools stands in a category separate from environmental stewardship. But, if creation care is about caring for all creation, then providing physical protection for people who work out in nature is no less important than addressing the human consequences of climate change (e.g., extreme weather changes, flooding, typhoons).
Joel discusses water pollution
The crew expressed interest in serving as ambassadors and managing  the campus as a teaching tool. They discussed the possibility of leading a native tree planting project and making labels to name and describe tree species and their use for medicinal, nutritional, or other purposes.

In the afternoon, Ben, Rachel, and Joel met with administrative and support/office staff to discuss responsible use of resources in the office workplace. Among the topics was how to better manage printing and copying needs to reduce waste and save money. The group also discussed the reality that sometimes doing the right thing is cost efficient. Sometimes it costs more. Environmental stewardship enjoys no respite from the tension between expediency and ethics.

Management of electronic waste also generated discussion. The group did not identify action steps; however, what did bubble up is that there are some students and faculty on campus interested in figuring out solutions. The group did not develop concrete action plans on this matter, but at least that had conversations

Monday, June 9, 2014

Campus Conversations: Day 1

After six months of preparation and planning, Creation Care: Campus Conversations launched officially with a special chapel on Monday, May 19. Special for several reasons.

Rachel, Elikia, Joel, Ben (L to R)
First, the entire UCBC community joined together. Usually, only students and faculty attend Monday and Friday chapel services. The technical staffs of grounds crew, mechanics, and construction workers have their own prayer and Bible study time on Saturdays. Second, chapel was conducted in Swahili and English, rather than French and English. Third, we had special guests in attendance. In addition to Jay and Jessica Shewan (brother and sister-in-law of one of our international staff), four experts and practitioners in environmental stewardship rounded out the gathering.  Joel Vwira Tembo (Goma Business Services), Elikia Amani Zahinda (Congolese Foresters Network), Rachel Lamb (Young Evangelicals for Climate Action) and Ben Lowe (Evangelical Environmental Network and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action) had come to join us as teachers and facilitators for the week. 

Honoré set the stage for the week, welcoming our special guests and also UCBC’s technical crew. He reminded us all that we are ONE community. Each of us has a role, a job, a set of responsibilities, talents and gifts. None of these outshines any other. We are all members of one body. To be honest, that message was one that I had hoped would be communicated. UCBC requires students to do manual labor each week. Work Program is one way we teach and remind students that manual labor is a responsibility and its own reward. A university diploma is not “ticket out.” It is a “commitment to.” It’s a commitment to honor and respect those who labor physically and a commitment to share in the physical burdens of all who make up our communities.

Ben teaches, Katsongo interprets
It's too easy to get caught up in one's own concerns and spin daily activities in our own sphere. I know I regularly fail to recognize those whose labors, whether intellectual or physical, spin at the outer edges of my own.
Research and agribusiness meeting
Elikia Amani Zahinda (L) and
Joel Vwira Tembo (R) flank Jon Shaw

After singing, introductions, and an outline of the week's activities, Honoré welcomed Ben to the podium. Katsongo, Theology Faculty Coordinator, translated as Ben gave a brief teaching entitled, "Creation Care: Discipleship and Faithful Witness." 
English teachers
(L to R) Mashauri,  John, Josias

In the afternoon, Ben, Rachel, Elikia, and Joel met with the team heading up UCBC’s initiative to strengthen research capacity through an examination of agri-business education. The purpose of the meeting was to establish professional connections and push the conversation about agri-business, sustainability, environmental stewardship, and agro-forestry. Afterwards, the visiting team and English teachers gathered at my house for afternoon tea.


(L to R) Joel, Rachel, Ben,
Kinangani (director of RTB), and me

Sunday, June 1, 2014

A day of rest

Quiet morning with a bit of fog from last night’s rain. After church I met two students, then came home to enjoy a quiet day of rest. A little writing. A little reading. A little French studying.

Collected orange and yellow cosmos from the garden to set in a jar of water.
Watched the sun dance in the curtains.
Talked to my kids on the phone.

Now Mdogo (father of the kittens) purrs contentedly beside me.


A power surge fried my laptop power cable this evening.

I refuse to let that inconvenience and the required replacement purchase dim the day.