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The coordination of Beni veterans basketball clubs organized a charity competition this past weekend to raise funds and goods for poor people. In collaboration with the Urban Basketball Entente, this initiative aims to primarily support the widows and orphans of FARDC soldiers who fell at the front, as well as those displaced by war.
Since the launch of the tournament on Friday January 16, 2026, the city’s sports venue has served as a collection point. Spectators and citizens of goodwill leave food, clothing and financial contributions there.
Bringing smiles back to military families
The main objective of this mobilization is to provide concrete assistance to the families of soldiers who fought against the M23 rebels. For Pascal Kazindu, coordinator of the veterans’ clubs and organizer of the event, it is a duty of recognition towards those who defended the homeland:
“We thought of assisting these widows of our valiant FARDC soldiers. We will go see them in their camp with what we have collected. The idea is to bring a smile back to these people who are suffering.”
A call for urban solidarity
Beyond military families, the tournament also targets the many displaced people from Goma and surrounding areas, some of whom live in extreme precariousness in Beni.
« There are people sleeping under the stars here in the city while we have houses. We cannot remain indifferent Pascal Kazindu insists.
The organizers are calling on the entire population to continue this outpouring of generosity to help those who have lost everything due to the security crisis.
