Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Dr. Denis Mukwege Awarded United Nations Prize

Dr. Denis Mukwege of the Panzi Hospital in the DRC has been named winner of The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for 2008. Previous recipients of the award include Nelson Mandela, Amnesty International, Jimmy Carter, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Reverend Dr. Martin L. King.

Dr. Mukwege is the Director and Founder of the groundbreaking Panzi General Referral Hospital in Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where he performs life-saving fistula surgeries on girls and women who have been brutally raped and mutilated in the Congolese war.

V-Day and UNICEF have partnered with the Panzi Hospital to build the City of Joy, a safe house project which will be a refuge for healed women, survivors of rape and torture who have been left without family and community. City of Joy will offer a safe haven, providing educational and income-generating opportunities, and support women in becoming the next leaders of the DRC.

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