In Beni City, North Kivu, 75 vulnerable women and girls from the Boikene neighborhood benefited, on Monday, June 15, 2026, from a capacity-building session focused on their rights, social cohesion, positive masculinity, and the mandate of MONUSCO.
This initiative was organized by the NGO AFNAC, in collaboration with MONUSCO’s United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), as part of a socio-economic recovery project targeting, in particular, returnee women living in a post-conflict context.
As part of the implementation of a MONUSCO Quick Impact Project (QIP), this activity aims to strengthen the empowerment of beneficiaries while promoting peaceful coexistence within the Boikene community.
Prior to this session, the 75 beneficiaries had already received training in Income-Generating Activities (IGAs). Last week, they were provided with start-up kits tailored to their chosen activities, including sewing machines for tailoring, second-hand clothing for resale, seeds for market gardening, as well as baking inputs.
The training session focused on key themes such as the Women, Peace and Security agenda, gender equality, women’s leadership, and MONUSCO’s role in the protection of civilians.
With a budget of USD 24,000, the project seeks not only to improve the living conditions of the women and girls involved but also to strengthen their active participation in peacebuilding efforts.
According to Benge Mukengere, Coordinator of AFNAC, this initiative is a key driver of social transformation: “Women needed support to be trained in income-generating activities. We are also training them on women’s rights, social cohesion, women’s involvement in peacebuilding in the city of Beni, and their empowerment. Some chose tailoring, others pastry-making, and others small-scale trade such as selling second-hand clothes, tomatoes, charcoal, or cassava flour… And through all this, they are developing. We sincerely thank our partner MONUSCO and urge them to continue supporting women. Because empowering a woman means bringing peace; empowering a woman means raising family living standards.”
All the beneficiaries, drawn from vulnerable backgrounds, are thus strengthening their economic and social capacities, contributing to their resilience and the stability of their community.
Jean-Tobie OKALA
