Executive Director
Katrien joined the Mukwege Foundation in 2019, and is responsible for strategic leadership and operational management of our team, and developing a strategic network of donor and partners. She has extensive experience in humanitarian aid and advocacy gained during more than two decades of work for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic Congo, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Colombia and Haiti. She also served as Delegate Director for MSF Holland, and as interim-head of the department of International Humanitarian Law of the Netherlands Red Cross.
Senior Programme Manager, Holistic Care
Dominique joined the Mukwege Foundation team in 2019 as a senior programme manager, responsible for the development of the holistic care international programmes. She worked at Panzi Hospital and Foundation in the DRC between 2011 and 2015 before joining the UN peacekeeping mission as a Women Protection Advisor, then UNICEF as a Child Protection Specialist. While with the UN, Dominique specialised in coordinating multi-sectoral assistance for sexual violence survivors, sexual exploitation and abuse cases and gender sensitive care for child ex-combatants. She is particularly interested in militarisation, civilian protection, post-conflict rebuilding and advocating for justice for victims of conflict related sexual violence.
Programme Manager, National Survivor Networks
After writing her master thesis on the access to reparations for victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Apolline started her career in the humanitarian sector focusing on the issue of conflict-related sexual violence. She spent some years in the field in Africa, including at Panzi Hospital in Bukavu (DRC) closely working with Dr Mukwege’s team. After kick starting the work of national survivor networks in DRC and Central African Republic, she now works as a programme manager in charge of the Mukwege Foundation projects linked to movement-building and amplifying the voices of survivors across the world.
Fundraising Officer
Siobhan joined the Mukwege Foundation in 2018, and works as Fundraising Officer, responsible for institutional fundraising with foundations, governments and multilateral organisations. She has many years experience of both fundraising and grant-making gained in the UK and the Netherlands. Her diverse experience includes public-facing roles as a trainer and coach, managing partnerships and networks, and support and capacity building in the non-profit sector. Prior to her work for the Mukwege Foundation she worked for the Heritage Lottery Fund in the UK, and as a freelance entrepreneur in the Netherlands.
Communications Officer
Maud is Communications Officer for the Mukwege Foundation and Panzi Foundation DRC, and joined the team in 2018. She is a Congolese journalist and documentary-maker, and worked as a TV host for daily news programmes on different channels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Prior to joining the team she worked for Dr Mukwege for several years, producing the documentary “The Hospital of Doctor Mukwege” in 2012, amongst other documentary projects.
Office Manager
Brynn joined our team in 2019, first as a Fundraising Intern and now as the Office Manager & Project Assistant, with responsibilities in human resources, financial administration, executive assistance, travel coordination, general administration & communications, event planning, and IT support. She provides operational and administrative assistance for the Mukwege Foundation’s ongoing projects. Her background is in criminal justice and forensics, and she has experience working in victim advocacy and non-traditional forms of justice, with organisations such as Women at the Courthouse and Justice for All.
Programme Manager, Global Survivor Network
Camila joined the Mukwege Foundation in 2019, first as an intern, and then as a project officer for SEMA, the Global Survivor Network. She supports and enhances the development and growth of SEMA, with responsibilities for project oversight and implementation. With a background in international relations and diplomacy, Camila has experience working for international organisations such as the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the Portuguese Permanent Delegation to the OECD.
Programme Manager, National Survivor Networks
Nicole joined the Mukwege Foundation team in 2020 as Programme Manager responsible for national survivor networks. She has several years of legal practice experience, including working on transitional justice matters in Canada and Côte d’Ivoire. She has worked on the design and implementation of large-scale reparations programmes in the context of domestic and international legal proceedings and has a keen interest in facilitating effective participation of victims in justice processes.
Compliance & Projects Controller
Esther joined the Mukwege Foundation in 2021 as the Compliance & Projects Controller. She started her career in journalism in conflict-affected areas in North Eastern Kenya, where she interviewed and wrote articles on the socio-economic dynamics of internally displaced people, refugees, and female genital mutilation. Before relocating to the Netherlands, she worked for humanitarian organisations on first response post-conflict, living conditions of the marginalized, conflict prevention and gender-based violence. She has over ten years of experience in compliance and control of programmes and projects.
Project Officer, Holistic Care
Prerna started her humanitarian career with the Mukwege Foundation in 2016 as an intern. She went on to work at the Panzi Hospital and Foundation in Bukavu in 2017, learning in-depth how the pillars of the holistic care model for survivors of sexual violence function. Between 2018 and 2020, Prerna worked with different international NGOs in the Horn and North of Africa, as a specialist on case management and referrals for high-risk populations, implementing care-sensitive programmes and setting up protection information management and cash transfer systems. With all these skills and experiences, Prerna is back at the Mukwege Foundation as of September 2021 as a project officer for the holistic care international programmes.
Country Director, Central African Republic
Dr Issou MAZAMBI Earvin joined the Mukwege Foundation in December 2021, first as Programme Director for Central African Republic (CAR) and now as Country Director. After completing his medical studies and beginning his career as a medical doctor in Burundi, he then transitioned to a humanitarian career. Dr Issou has 13 years of experience providing assistance to vulnerable people, including victims of GBV in conflict in emergency and humanitarian contexts. He has provided both managerial and technical expertise on projects regarding health, nutrition and especially GBV for internally displaced persons and local communities in countries including South Sudan, Burundi, Chad, Mali, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso.
Communications Specialist
Shintya is a storyteller with passions for breaking stigmas and stereotypes. She joined the team at the start of 2022. As a Communications Specialist, she is responsible for developing the communications strategy to support the Mukwege Foundation’s advocacy and fundraising aims. Her former experience in journalism and creative content development have led her to campaigning for social change on a range of topics such as climate justice, gender equality, and disaster preparedness.
Coordinator of Nengo Project, Central African Republic
Dr Thera joined the Dr Denis Mukwege Foundation in January 2022 as Nengo Project Coordinator in the Central African Republic. Within this consortium he also represents the Panzi Foundation. Between 2011 and 2021, he worked in several international non-governmental organizations as project coordinator, Program Unit Manager and Head of mission. During this period, he worked on development programs and humanitarian assistance and managed several projects including primary health care, newborn and child maternal health, projects to fight harmful traditional practices such as violence based gender, early marriage, excision, etc. He is particularly interested in assistance for sexual violence survivors.
Programme Director
Banu joined the Mukwege Foundation in 2022 as Programme Director and her responsibilities include the strategic orientation of the programming and supporting the implementation of all three pillars of the Foundation’s work. Banu has thirty years of professional management experience, twenty four of which were in senior humanitarian and not-for-profit management positions. She worked in many conflict settings like Liberia, East Timor, Albania, Kosovo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Somalia/ Somaliland, South Sudan, Kenya, and Mozambique. Banu’s background is management, international law and humanitarian assistance. Her main interest areas are conflict resolution, peace and reconciliation, gender, justice and accountability.
Finance, Admin and Operations Coordinator – CAR
Abakar Mahamat Abdoulaye joined the Mukwege Foundation in July 2022 as the Finance, Administration and Operations Coordinator for Central African Republic (CAR) to coordinate and support the country team’s financial operations and HR management. His core competencies are grants, financial management, budget management and audit queries. Abakar has 14 years of work experience within emergency and development programmes with International Medical Corps (IMC) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), in Chad, Cameroon and South Sudan, including on programmes focused on gender-based violence and humanitarian support in conflict.
Logistics Coordinator – CAR
Fofana Yaya joined the Mukwege Foundation in July 2022 as Logistics Coordinator. His responsibilities involve defining and implementing logistics strategies and management systems to support the Mukwege Foundation’s programmes in the Central African Republic (CAR). Yaya has ten years of experience in humanitarian missions, having worked in several non-governmental organisations including Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Niger, the Association of Volunteers for International Service (AVSI Foundation) in Côte d’Ivoire and the Pierre Fabre Foundation (FPF) in CAR.
Financial Administrator
Richard is a bookkeeper with infinite passion for financial accounting and administration. He joined the Mukwege Foundation late 2022 after working several years for scores of multinational organisations around the world in the field of accounting and Finance. He is a strong human rights defender and advocate for social justice and equal opportunity for all. As a finance specialist, he works closely with management and the finance team to ensure that foundation finances are compliant with industry and accountability standards set by our donors.
Fundraising Officer – Individual Giving
Eve joined the Mukwege Foundation in mid-2022 as a Fundraising Officer. She is the go-to person to address inquiries from individual donors. Her combined background and skills in international relations, macroeconomics, and marketing makes her a trusted person to help raise unearmarked funding to support the Foundation’s operations. Eve has obtained working experience leading multiple national and international non-profits and advising multilateral organisations. Most recently, Eve worked as a marketing expert in the private sector in both commercial and corporate social responsibilities roles.
Project Support Intern
Gaia joined the Mukwege Foundation in 2022 as a Project Support Intern working on the foundation’s projects supporting national survivor networks and SEMA, the Global Survivor Network. She has a background in the criminology of international and conflict-related crimes and research experience on topics such as the crime-conflict nexus, transitional justice, and conflict-related sexual violence. Her master’s thesis focuses on children born of conflict-related sexual violence among the Rohingya community.
Communications Intern
Vianna joined the Mukwege Foundation in September 2022 as a Communications Intern. While possessing a background in International Studies and European and International Governance, her personal interest in writing and graphic design led her to pursue this internship. In addition to her creative abilities, she has had formal experience being an editor for the JASON institute.
Programme Manager, Global Survivor Network
Camille joined the Mukwege Foundation team in 2023 as a Programme Manager, responsible to support the Global Survivor Network. Prior to joining the Mukwege Foundation, she worked in Thailand in a regional network of women’s rights organisations; in Colombia in the UN Verification Mission of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the FARC and the Colombian government; and in a Swiss institution working on gender and security. Her background is in human rights law, and she is particularly interested in conflict-related sexual violence, transitional justice processes, peace negotiations, and the links between climate change, gender and security.
Special Assistant to Dr. Mukwege and Advocacy Officer
Olivier joined the Mukwege Foundation in January 2020, and is responsible for carrying out advocacy work, particularly in respect to the justice and accountability pillar of the Foundation. He has more than 10 years of experience in the field of human rights, including in peace missions in the DRC, in Afghanistan and in Mali. Prior to joining the Mukwege Foundation, he was special assistant to Dr. Mukwege.
Founding Director and Special Advisor
Since 2000, Esther Dingemans has dedicated her career to the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence and ensuring quality care for survivors. She worked for UN agencies and NGOs in Guinea, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Darfur, Colombia and Syria, and managed major humanitarian programmes in the field of gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming. She led capacity building projects in other conflict-affected countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Specific areas of expertise include community-driven projects and processes, advocacy, holistic care for survivors and survivor-centred reparations.
Special Adviser
Dr Denis Mukwege is a world-renowned gynaecologist and human rights activist from east DRC. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his global efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. He founded Panzi Hospital and Foundation, and has become the world’s leading specialist on treating survivors of wartime sexual violence.
“We all have the power to change the course of history when the beliefs we are fighting for are right.”
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