What a mobilisation ef-fort!!! Nobody wanted to be caught sitting around: members of the Assumptionist provin-cial council, other Assumptionists, Oblate Sisters of the Assumption, Brothers of the Assumption, administrators and students from ISEAB (Institut Supérieur Emmanuel d'Alzon de Butembo), masons, volunteers from our Assumptionist-sponsored NGO, and who knows how many others showed up at the ISEAB work-site on the morning of Wednesday, March 26, 2014, to help with the construction project and especially with the cement preparation and pouring. More than 200 people donated their time working energetically from morning till night. Everyone got involved, even curious bystanders and grammar school children, who were pressed into service, at one point needed to provide ballast for a truck that got caught in the sand.

There was a veritable caravan of trucks at work --- carrying gravel, sand, and water. Once on site they were mixed to make cement and a cadre of masons began pouring it into the various molds that had been built in previous weeks. Here we were, no matter what our state in life, equals standing shoulder to shoulder in a common effort: priest, nun, student, civil or academic official, common laborer, etc. It resembled an ant colony.

Around 1 PM we took a lunch break and then we were back at it till nightfall, when most of the students had to head home. But since there was till work to be accomplished, a few brave-hearted stayed on and redoubled their efforts, completing the task at hand at midnight. A few other minor tasks kept some on site till sunrise (actually, given the general insecurity in the region, some were afraid to return home). The following day, Thursday, students and faculty alike were so tired that classes were canceled.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this special project. It's clear that everyone understood that ISEAB is a mobilizing work. Students were already aware that they had a part to play in their school. ISEAB isn't just an institution; it's more a spirit. That's what explains why so many students signed up to help as soon as the director put up a volunteer list. From now on, it's clear that we need not worry about the goodwill and loyalty this institution enjoys.  As Assumptionists we will push on toward our goal. After all, we are motivated by nothing less than a passion for the coming of God's Kingdom.