Photo © RET Germany

Article by RET Germany Global Communications

BUKAVU, D.R. CONGO – In July, RET Germany returned to Bukavu for a firsthand look at construction of a new Center for Transit and Orientation (CTO), built for children and adolescent girls affected by armed conflict in eastern Congo.

Since November 2025, RET Germany has partnered with BVES, a local child protection organization, to build the CTO in South Kivu and North Kivu. The center is a cornerstone of a Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO). Once complete, it will give demobilized children, and especially girls who survived sexual violence, a safe place to recover and rebuild.

The finished site will include administrative buildings, training rooms, residential dormitories for girls, offices for specialized services, and full furnishings. Beyond brick and mortar, the CTO is meant to be a space of protection and hope, offering psychosocial support, catch-up education, vocational guidance, and individual case follow-through.

Photos © RET Germany

The project’s reach is substantial: 720 demobilized children, 624 of them girls, will receive protection and support toward school or vocational reintegration. Another 720 families and guardians will be coached to provide stable, protective homes. More than 300 community leaders, including women leaders, youth representatives, teachers, and local officials, will be trained to strengthen child protection at the community level. Nearly 30,000 people will benefit indirectly through improved community safety and services.

While construction continues, BVES has temporarily relocated its activities and residents to an interim CTO in Mudaka, Kabare territory. RET’s visit there included a capacity-building session for staff and an exchange with residents. The center currently houses 36 beneficiaries, including 14 adolescent mothers and 6 pregnant girls. Between November 2025 and March 2026, BVES reunified 80 adolescents and children with their families, bringing the project’s total caseload to 205, of whom 89 were demobilized through community mechanisms such as foster placement or family reunification.

The visit also included a two-day semi-annual review workshop, held July 26-29 in Bukavu, drawing 22 participants to assess project performance, implementation approaches, and upcoming activities.

This project “Support for Adolescent Girls Associated with Armed Groups and Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Through Prevention and Socio-Economic Reintegration in South Kivu and North Kivu” is made possible with generous support from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) and being implemented by RET Germany and BVES in D.R. Congo from 2025–2027.

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