Our Collection
Explore our handpicked artworks
photo
Where Dignity Begins | From Survival To Governance
Emmanuella Vasikya (center, AVSD vest) engages with women vendors at a local market in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Junuary 1st, 2026. Through AVSD RDC, Vasikya has developed grassroots economic empowerment programs targeting women and girls pushed into extreme vulnerability by years of armed conflict in eastern DRC a crisis that the United Nations has described as one of the world's most severe humanitarian emergencies, with more than 7 million people internally displaced. ©AVSD RDC | Sote Pamoja DRC & FCRJ London
photo
Weaving Peace, One Hand at a Time | From Survival To Governance
Emmanuella Vasikya works alongside women during a handicraft and economic empowerment session in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, in this undated archive photograph. Under Vasikya's leadership, AVSD RDC has coordinated income-generating programs designed to restore dignity and financial autonomy to women affected by conflict, an approach aligned with international frameworks such as UN Resolution 1325, which recognizes women's economic empowerment as inseparable from sustainable peace. ©AVSD RDC | Sote Pamoja DRC & FCRJ London
photo
Voices That Cannot Be Silenced | From Survival To Governance
Emmanuella Vasikya, executive secretary of AVSD DRC, listens to and teaches young girls about economic culture and gender during an activity held at her office headquarters in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on March 1, 2026. As armed conflict continues to ravage North Kivu, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and exposing women and girls to unprecedented levels of gender-based violence, Vasikya has spent more than a decade building spaces where their voices are heard, protected, and taken into account. ©Isaac Bujirwa | Sote Pamoja DRC & FCRJ London
photo
Voices That Cannot Be Silenced | From Survival To Governance
Emmanuella Vasikya, executive secretary of AVSD DRC, listens to and teaches young girls about economic culture and gender during an activity held at her office headquarters in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on March 1, 2026. As armed conflict continues to ravage North Kivu, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and exposing women and girls to unprecedented levels of gender-based violence, Vasikya has spent more than a decade building spaces where their voices are heard, protected, and taken into account. ©Isaac Bujirwa | Sote Pamoja DRC & FCRJ London
photo
Emmanuella VASIKYA | From Survival To Governance
Emmanuella Vasikya is a women’s rights activist and humanitarian leader based in Goma, serving as Executive Secretary of AVSD and a member of the Coalition of African Women Mediators for Peace. She works on the frontline to protect and empower women and girls affected by conflict, promoting gender-sensitive, survivor-centered approaches and strengthening community resilience through humanitarian, development, and peace building actions.
photo
Mary BALIKUNGERI | From Survival To Governance
Mary Balikungeri is a Rwandan human rights defender, peacebuilder, and advocate for gender justice. Following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, she founded the Rwanda Women’s Network to support survivors and help rebuild communities affected by violence and trauma. Having experienced displacement herself as a refugee during her childhood, Mary dedicated her life to fighting injustice, ending gender-based violence, and promoting women’s leadership. Through initiatives such as the Polyclinic of Hope, she created safe spaces where women could heal, access psychosocial support, rebuild their lives, and become leaders within their communities. Her work combines trauma healing, economic empowerment, peacebuilding, and advocacy, with a strong focus on women’s participation in social transformation and reconciliation. Today, she also serves as Chairperson of the Africa Network of Women Shelters, continuing to advance women’s rights and community resilience across the region.