The Christian Bilingual University of Congo

With the motto “being transformed to transform,” Dr. David Kasali founded the Christian Bilingual University of Congo in Beni in 2007 and still serves as the school’s rector. 

“My goal with this university is to cast a vision,” he explained, “But it does not start with UCBC, it starts with Congo. I envision a Congo that is even better than what we have lived.”

UCBC’s Integrated Research Institute program is currently working on the project Sharing the Land, which uses GPS mapping technology and drone aerial images to create a map of all the plots of land in the city with the aim to help end the region’s conflict. 

In Beni itself, much of the city’s conflict comes from disputes over who has legal right to the land. In fact, 85% of legal cases in Masiani district, where the university is located, constitute land disputes.

Working with the local authorities, the UCBC team is able to register the boundaries of all land parcels and match these with city files delineating which holdings are legally titled and which are not.

Sharing the Land is one of UCBC’s many innovative programs and successes:

UCBC’s agribusiness development team is also working on ways to use brewery waste as biological fertilizer and food for animals. The data collection team performed over 150 baseline surveys with farmers across Beni and Mangina.

And, supported by ECI, the university now hosts the largest ratio of computers to students in the country, a growing library, and projects with the Integrated Research Institute program that focus on pioneering new connections with the surrounding community.

Read more about the solar power project that ECI helped provide to UCBC