DR Congo

Personel and patients at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu watches a play about men's violence against women.

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation first came to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007. We visited Kinshasa and the eastern parts of the country, near the cities of Goma, Bukavu and Uvira. We met with women organizations working with women who had been affected in different ways by the prolonged conflicts in the area. It was clear that the needs of strengthening women’s rights and the civil society were, and are, great. In eastern DRC there are still armed conflicts taking place and sexual violence and rape is systematically used as a way of warfare.

In 2009 the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation started working with the organization FADI, in Uvira. FADI focus on women’s equal rights and hiv/aids. In March and June 2009 we arranged an exchange between women human rights organizations in the Balkans and the Panzi hospital in Bukavu, where women who have been subjected to sexual violence and rape during the conflict, can recieve medical help.

During 2011 the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation plan to further expand our work in DRC.