Jean-Tobie Okala General Alain Bamenou of Benin, acting head of MONUSCO’s Police component (UNPOL), began a strategic tour of Ituri and North Kivu on 9 June 2025, aimed at boosting cooperation with the Congolese National Police (PNC) and showing support for UN police officers stationed in the field.The first stop of this mission was the city of Beni, in North Kivu. Throughout the week, General Bamenou met with local authorities, including the…
Jean-Tobie Okala Six months ago, MONUSCO launched a floating cage fish farming project in Tchomia, a commercial hub located 62 km south of Bunia, in Ituri Province. The initiative aimed to reduce community violence and combat unemployment by creating temporary jobs for 100 people, including 50 vulnerable women and 50 former combatants, at-risk youth, or unemployed individuals, while promoting socio-economic reintegration within the community…
Martial Mukeba wa Mukeba The Blood Transfusion Center of Beni, in North Kivu, concluded a voluntary blood donation campaign on Wednesday, 11 June 2025. Launched two months earlier among MONUSCO’s civilian and military personnel, the initiative aimed to prevent shortages of blood products in a region where demand remains high due to the influx of displaced persons and sustained pressure on local health facilities. According to Dr. Vianey Kambere…
Didier Vignon Dossou-Gbakon Five years had passed before notables from the Ezekere community finally set foot in Mandro again. It was a historic day, marked by emotion, sincerity, and hope, as Lendu and Hema sat face to face, spoke to each other, and dared to cross the barrier of fear. This meeting was made possible thanks to the initiative of women mediators in Ituri, trained by MONUSCO’s Gender Section, who organized a local mediation session…
Martial Mukeba wa Mukeba Twenty-five Congolese prison administration officers from the Beni region in North Kivu, including four women, took part in a training session on June 10, 2025, focused on preventing radicalization and violent extremism of detainees. Organized at Kangbayi Urban Prison by MONUSCO’s Prison Administration Support Unit in Beni, the training aimed to strengthen prison staff capacity in managing inmates at risk of…
Joël Bofengo In addition to being a poet and slam artist, Congolese Do Nsoseme Dora is also a photographer. Her work, at the intersection of documentary and conceptual styles, often features staged scenes that challenge traditional gender roles. She is one of about ten women whose photographs have been on display since June 7 at the Photoville Festival in New York. Captured in eleven different contexts — Abyei, Cyprus, Central African Republic…
Jean-Tobie Okala About twenty staff members from the military and civil judicial administration of Beni and Butembo, as well as Congolese police officers, attended two simultaneous training sessions from May 26 to June 5, 2025, at MONUSCO’s headquarters in Beni. The first focused on ballistic expertise applied to criminal trials, while the second centered on cybercrime and digital investigation techniques. Over the ten days, the trainees…
ean-Tobie Okala In Beni, North Kivu Province, MONUSCO celebrated World Environment Day on Thursday, June 5, by organizing an awareness campaign and planting trees at a local school. “ It’s a very important day” said Adam Obatoki Salami, acting head of the UN mission’s sub-office. Celebrated every year on June 5 since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public awareness, observed by millions of people…
Didier Vignon Dossou-Gbakon et Jean-Tobie Okala Saturday, May 24, 2025. It is a little past 11 a.m., under the scorching sun, in the Tsere community in the Ituri province. Samuel, in his thirties, watches with a discreet smile the lush enclosure where about twenty cows are grazing. This pasture, these animals, this workspace… All of it represents more than just livestock farming: it’s a promise of stability, a symbol of a break from years spent…
Alain Wandimoyi In response to the deteriorating security conditions due to armed conflict in North Kivu province, particularly in the vicinity of Goma, approximately thirty stakeholders from civil society, women's associations, youth organizations, and the education sector attended a two-day capacity-building workshop on May 28-29, focusing on the protection of children's rights in crisis situations. Organized by the Child Protection Section of…