The offices of Gender, Family and Children Affairs, Social Affairs and Youth Coordination now have a new functional headquarters in Oicha, the chief town of Beni Territory, in North Kivu.
This project, funded by MONUSCO through its Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), contributes to restoring State authority and strengthening social cohesion in an area long affected by armed violence, particularly by ADF rebels.

Essential support for public services

Inaugurated on 3 October 2025, the new building includes a 50-seat meeting room, sanitary facilities, full furniture and equipment, as well as solar panels to ensure energy autonomy.
Before this project, the concerned services operated from a small wooden structure of barely ten square meters, in precarious conditions that hindered their work.

“This new office meets an urgent need in a context marked by gender-based violence and juvenile delinquency. It will enable us to provide better service to the population,” said Antoinette Zawadi, Coordinator of the Women’s Associations of Beni Territory.

The total cost of the project amounts to 48,000 US dollars, financed by MONUSCO as part of its stabilization and community support programmes.

A space for cooperation and dialogue

For local civil society, the new building provides a shared workspace that will promote dialogue and collaboration among social actors.

“This building is a physical structure, but what matters most are the activities that will take place here to strengthen cohesion among communities,” said Kasereka Kasajiryo, Rapporteur General of the Territorial Coordination of Civil Society in Beni.

Promoting peace and inclusion

MONUSCO reiterated the importance of working together—women, men and youth—to build lasting peace and combat gender stereotypes.

“Sharing the same workspace between young people and women offers an opportunity to implement Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 2250 and to promote peace,” emphasized Emery Chibi Banywesize from MONUSCO’s Gender Section in Beni.

A participatory project serving communities

The project also helped engage 59 at-risk youth, exposed to recruitment by armed groups or juvenile delinquency, and supported vulnerable women through funding for income-generating activities.
The facility was officially handed over to the Territory Administrator, Colonel Charles Ehuta Omeonga, who commended MONUSCO’s contribution to stabilization and the strengthening of local institutions.

“This partnership directly supports the restoration of State authority and the consolidation of peace in our territory,” he said.