Better Moments Donates “The Namibia Himba Woman” For A Meaningful Cause

Christian Nørgaard, the founder of Better Moments, supports and respects the protection of human rights, particularly for women and children. He is pleased and honored to donate one of his iconic photographs to A Wish for Humanity (AWFH), a foundation that raises money for women-led charities that actively focus on education and empowerment of women and children around the world.

The photograph, “The Namibia Himba Woman”, portrayed a Himba woman in her traditional hair, which signifies power and fertility amongst the Himba community.

We have the pleasure to meet the founder of A Wish for Humanity, Lisbeth Monéton, and hear her stories behind her initiative and how she connects art and philanthropy. 

“The Namibia Himba Woman” by Christian Nørgaard

What inspired you to start ‘A Wish for Humanity’?

My interest in humanitarian work started during our 4-year stay in Papua New Guinea.  Situated Northeast of Australia, its population lives below the poverty line. My husband and I were partners in a large company on one of the remote islands.  Our aim was to improve the living conditions for our 3000 local employees and to ensure they had access to basic needs like water, electricity, and sanitary facilities.

As education is not available to all, I decided to create several Play Schools for young children.  I persuaded some of the mothers to take the role of teachers.  It immediately became a success.  The kids learned quickly, and the parents were extremely proud of their children.

Monéton’s play school for children in Papua New Guinea

One day, I had the opportunity to enroll the teaching mothers into a program to become certified teachers. From being stay-at-home-mothers raising between 5 and 11 children and dying very young due to the many pregnancies and childbirths, these mothers promptly acquired a status to become workers with salaries and secured housing.   It was a life-changing experience for most of them because many were poor widows or divorcees.  That was when I saw the true-life transition of empowering women.

I truly learned about the power of education and decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to this cause for women and children.

In 2021, I created A Wish for Humanity with the support of Therese Brown, whom I met in a Burma Photo Workshop in 2020 organized by Better Moments.

The founder Lisbeth Monéton (left) and Theresa Brown (right) of A Wish for Humanity

What is the philosophy behind AWFH?

Our philosophy is to connect Art & Philanthropy for a better tomorrow! 

Since Therese and I are both passionate photographers and I’m an established painter, we decided that to differentiate ourselves from other fundraising organizations, we would start an Art Shop. 

As we are both fascinated by Christian Nørgaard’s beautiful works of art, we asked if he wanted to help us, and he generously donated the beautiful Limited-Edition photograph, “The Namibia Himba Woman”.  We were thrilled as we are very proud and honored to count Christian amongst our art donors. 

Our portfolio of the generous artist is growing and we’re very grateful for every donation and welcomes all artists who want to make a life-changing difference and like Christian, donate an artwork to our Art Shop. The amounts raised will be distributed amongst the 5 organizations we support.

What is the mission of AWFH?

Many small charities do not have the resources to work in the field and get their message out, so they become heroes you never hear about. Our mission is to help women-led charities raise money for specific projects, so they can focus on their vision to change lives through education, protection and empowerment of women and children in distress. We share their personal stories and highlight their charities through A Wish for Humanity. 

Our vision is to be a benchmark for women-led charities and help as many as possible. When one target goal has been reached, we will create a new project with another amazing charity. 

The power of educating women changes the dynamics in society and within the family.

What are the key milestones?

We support charities with these beliefs –

“When you educate a woman, you educate a whole community.” 

“When women start earning their own money, they ensure their children have access to food, healthcare and can go to school.” 

“If we want to create a world of peace, justice, and loving kindness, we must focus our efforts on children as the core of humanity and the most important members of society.”

In Papua New Guinea, I experienced how educating women changes the dynamics in society and within the family. I created awareness meetings for women on subjects such as sexual abuse, family planning etc. In families where the woman was allowed to participate in these meetings, the husband was respectful to his wife and supported her in her development, education, and independence. They had less marital violence and a much happier and equal relationship. 

I think we are on the right track, and I am convinced that with education and understanding of women’s rights, we will see a rise of female business owners, female political leaders etc. and an increase of children, especially girls, being educated, which is all the only way of getting people out of poverty. 

Learn more about A Wish for Humanity https://awishforhumanity.org/ 
For information about art donations, please mail Lisbeth: lisbeth@awishforhumanity.org