For years, the people of Ancuabe, Cabo Delgado, Northern Mozambique, have lived in the shadow of conflict. Families were uprooted, livelihoods destroyed, and trust in local institutions fractured. Yet over the past week, something remarkable unfolded in this community. Between 18–24 September 2025, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), working alongside the Government of Mozambique, civil society and local partners, delivered a package of interventions designed to help Ancuabe stand tall again. 

In partnership with the Provincial Service for Economic Activities (SPAE) and the District Service for Economic Activities (SDAE), 240 households received 720 goats and sheep.  “I never thought I would have livestock again,” said Candida Abiba Antonio, a single mother of eight from Metoro Cede, Ancuabe. “These sheep are my children’s school fees, our income, and our future. I feel hope returning to my home.” 

At the same time, 100 community security council members received bicycles to improve mobility and coordination. The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Ancuabe received two motorbikes, giving them vital tools to extend their presence and reinforce community safety. 40 children and youth participated in art therapy sessions led by the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism (DPCT). Through drawings, colors, and shared laughter, they found a safe space to express emotions often too heavy for words. One young boy drew a picture of his village before the violence, complete with a playing field and mango trees. “This is what I dream of,” he said quietly, clutching his painting. 

“This is about bringing back trust,” explained Belmiro Casimiro, District Administrator of Ancuabe. “When people see their councils equipped and their police mobile again, they know the State is here to protect them, not abandon them.” 

For Samuel Akera, UNDP Head of the Pemba Sub-Office, these interventions symbolize more than assistance. “By helping families rebuild livelihoods and by equipping community structures, we are restoring the social contract between people and the State,” he said.  

Since 2017, Cabo Delgado has faced violence from non-state armed groups, a conflict that has claimed more than 4,500 lives, displaced over a million people, and left behind a trail of destroyed homes, schools, health posts, and markets. By March 2025, more than 600,000 remained displaced, with Ancuabe alone hosting close to 47,000 displaced people out of a total population of just over 72,000. The cycle of poverty, exclusion, and insecurity has deepened, with poverty rates in the north at 70.2 percent, malnutrition affecting 45 percent of children under five, and limited opportunities driving desperation, especially among young people. On top of these challenges, climate shocks have further eroded livelihoods, undoing years of development gains. 

It is against this reality that stabilization interventions take on such urgency. UNDP began implementing the Immediate Stabilization and Recovery Programme in Cabo Delgado in 2021, following the liberation of districts previously occupied by armed groups. The programme has steadily worked to restore the presence of legitimate authorities, rehabilitate vital infrastructure, and help communities restart their livelihoods. The recent initiatives in Ancuabe are part of this larger effort. As livestock settle into their new homes, bicycles are put to work across dusty roads, and children share their visions of peaceful villages through art, the people of Ancuabe are beginning to see that the future can look different from the past.  

These interventions, made possible with the generous support of UNDP, the Governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and the European Union, in close partnership with the Government of Mozambique, are building blocks for a renewed social contract between citizens and the State, and a reminder that even in places scarred by violence, hope can be restored.