London, UK. 1 October 2018.

Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Hanover, together with the Directors of Bonhams, Noella Coursaris Musunka, and Yetu Management, will hold a private viewing and auction of the exceptional AFRICA NOW collection in favour of the AMADE programme ‘Dignity for Women’ supporting refugee women and girls from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  As this initiative has already achieved many positive results, AMADE is working to duplicate the programme in other refugee camps.

‘Bienvenue au Congo’ – Art and Philanthropy

The event, called ‘Bienvenue au Congo’, is a celebration of contemporary art from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The evening will be held at Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street London W1S 1SR, prior to the public auction scheduled later in the week.  The impressive collection includes pieces such as ‘La Ramasseuse De Mains Coupées’ by Aime MPANE and ‘Revenants III’ by Patrick Bongoy.

All proceeds from the private auction will be split between the artists, AMADE and the Malaika Foundation, a charity dedicated to empowering girls in DRC through education. The funds mobilised in favour of AMADE will be dedicated to the programme ‘Dignity for Women’ – initiated by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover, President of AMADE, following Her exchanges with young women and girls from the Mungote IDP (Internal Displaced People) camp in North Kivu at the invitation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in September 2016. During Her tour, women of the camp, refugees and internally displaced persons in the Democratic Republic of Congo, described their precariousness.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite this, it hosts more than half a million refugees from other countries in the region. These refugee women and girls are victims of numerous abuses and lack access to personal hygiene during their periods of menstruation inside the camps. The crippling situation further stigmatises these women, particularly when they are of school age and are forced to drop out.  This became the catalyst for the ‘Dignity for Women’ programme which offers a social, economic, and environmentally responsible response.