H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 24 to 28 September, 2017, to visit the ongoing programmes of AMADE Mondiale and launch the “Dignity for Women” initiative. This initiative, jointly led with the High Commission for Refugees, aims to promote access for young girls who are refugees (or internally displaced) to intimate hygiene in order to promote their access to education and prevent sexual abuse, used in this region of the world as a weapon of war.
Accompanied by Madam Ann Encontre, Regional Representative of the High Commission for Refugees and Madam Awa Ndiaye Seck, Resident Representative of the UNO’s Women’s Agency, H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover went to Gbadolite, on the border with the Central African Republic, to conduct the inauguration of the first fabrication unit of female sanitary products of the “Dignity for Women” programme. This production unit employs around a hundred women who take part in all stages of fabrication, from harvesting papyrus, through to the assembly line, packaging and sterilisation of MakaPads, a sanitary towel made up of local naturally absorbent materials, without chemical components and which are 95% biodegradable.
On the occasion of her fourth visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the President of AMADE Mondiale also returned to the Vivre et Travailler Autrement Centre (VTA) [Live and Work Differently], an institution dedicated to housing, protecting and the reintegration into society of girls thrown into the street, suspected by their families or the community of being “witch children.”
The Princess of Hanover then visited the Cultural and Contemporary Art Space of TEXAF Bilembo, to attend the opening of the “Generation Congo” exhibition of the photographer William Dupuy, commissioned to produce portraits of children assisted by various programmes supported by the Monegasque NGO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In Goma, on 26 and 27 September, H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover took part, accompanied by His Excellency Mr. Paulo UCHOA, Ambassador of Brazil to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the first “Baptism and Handover of the Ropes Ceremony” of the East Region of the country, as part of the programme jointly implemented with UNICEF, “Capoeira for Peace.”
H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover concluded her trip by visiting the HEAL Africa hospital, an institution founded by Dr Jo Lucy. She saw there a presentation of the project “Together for Women,” which plans to build a centre exclusively dedicated to treating girls, teenagers and women who have been victims of sexual violence. On this occasion, a cooperation agreement was signed between the hospital and the Monegasque NGO to raise the funds to enable this initiative to come to fruition.
