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