KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The Gertler Family Foundation (GFF) is a proud advocate of International Albinism Awareness Day. Saturday 13 June was International Albinism Awareness Day, having been designated as such by the United Nations' General Assembly in 2014.

To coincide with this, today (15 June) the GFF is hosting a press conference to present Patricia Willocq's innovative White Ebony / Blanc Ebène photography book to the Kinshasa public. The book depicts photographs of people afflicted with ‎albinism in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)‬, with the purpose of increasing public awareness about the discrimination and marginalisation of albinos.

The GFF believe that the Democratic Republic of Congo can be a model for other countries on how to treat the albino community.

Dan Gertler, Co-Founder of GFF, said:  "We are honoured to support this cause and committed to helping change attitudes towards vulnerable members of society. Through support from the GFF we are raising awareness about albinos' marginalisation and helping to improve people's lives. The GFF is committed to the DRC and is proud to support the work here to help the albino community."

The GFF's support for International Albinism Awareness Day follows on a number of social initiatives which aim to help the most vulnerable segments of the Congolese population. In 2014 GFF sponsored the Project Blanc Ebene, where the GFF partnered with the prominent Mwimba Texas Foundation and helped bring greater awareness about social and medical services to Congolese albinos. Later that year, one hundred Congolese albino children received free photochromic eyeglasses from Hôpital du Cinquantenaire de Kisangani -another GFF project- to improve the children's sight, and their reading and writing.

Notes to editors:

Patricia Willocq is a freelance photographer born in the Congo. Amongst the assignments around the world, she dedicates time to support the work of associations and NGOs fighting in the field of human rights. White Ebony won an honourable mention at the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award 2013 and has been exhibited by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mr. Dan Gertler is a co-founder of the GFF. An initiative of the Gertler Family Trust, the GFF is committed to helping meet the needs of vulnerable Congolese. Since its inception in 2004, the GFF has invested millions of dollars in health, education, agriculture, emergency relief, infrastructure, culture and other projects across the DRC.

Please send media inquiries to media@gertlerfamilyfoundation.org

Visit http://www.gertlerfamilyfoundation.org to learn more about the GFF. Join us on Facebook: Gertler Family Foundation, and follow us on Twitter @gffdrc.

To learn more about the 'White Ebony' project, please visit: http://white-ebony.com/

SOURCE Gertler Family Foundation