Panzi Foundation

For the past 20 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been devastated by war and an epidemic of sexualized violence. Since its founding in 1999, Panzi Hospital has treated 40,000 women with complex gynecological injuries, 19,270 of whom are survivors of sexualized violence, becoming internationally recognized experts in fistula repair. 

True healing cannot begin and end with physical care: survivors, along with other vulnerable women, have access to Panzi’s best-in-class model of holistic healing: transitional housing, therapeutic counseling, legal aid, community reintegration services and job training. Panzi Foundation USA engages in strategic advocacy to end violence against women and makes strategic investments at Panzi Hospital to heal women & restore lives.

“A hundred years ago the [people of Congo] were subject to the worst kinds of torture. Following a great international mobilization, King Leopold II, then owner of the Congo, had to cede this vast territory to the Belgian state and so the population was able to have a comparative respite. Now, the sexual violence inflicted on women is the consequence of a war paid for by certain foreign financiers for whom the sole objective is sordid financial gain. Today, Congolese women, who are victims of sexual violence, reach out to the international community. They need your voice and your support as it was one hundred years ago when helping Congo to get rid off King Leopold. To quote Nelson Mandela, “None of us acting alone can attain success.”

- Dr. Denis Mukwege

WHAT WE'VE ACHIEVED

• Tripled the number of women accessing supportive housing, job skills training and reintegration services at Maison Dorcas;
• Created a successful solar energy pilot at the hospital which will soon provide a self-sustaining energy grid;
• Facilitated the design of future potable water sources for the hospital and surrounding community;
• Enabled an international team of engineers to assess infrastructure needs and create a plan for expansion; 
• Initiated the Tumaini (Hope) Project, providing education, life skills training and community outreach to vulnerable women;

• Established the Congo Coffee Project in partnership with Equal Exchange, to support the empowerment of survivors through the sale of fair-trade coffee in the US;
• Upgraded the building, playground, and educational materials at Aire de Jeux, Panzi Hospital’s vital children’s center;
• Developed a product line and distribution channels for survivor-made products sold to international markets for the first time; 
• Funded an innovative music therapy program for survivors; 
• Provided steel roofs to over 180 women enrolled in the Roofs For Survivors Program.