What is Foundation Rwanda: An Evening of Food & Fotos?

In February 2006, photojournalist Jonathan Torgovnik traveled to East Africa on behalf of Newsweek magazine to work on a story about HIV/AIDS. While there, he met Margaret, a Rwandan survivor who was brutally raped during the genocide, became pregnant, and contracted HIV. This horrific story led Torgovnik to embark on a photography project to document and tell the stories of 40 women like Margaret. He learned an estimated 20,000 children were born from rape during the genocide and repeatedly heard that their mothers are unable to afford the secondary school fees to keep their children in school. Deeply affected by the ongoing consequences of the genocide and the challenges these women and children face daily, Torgovnik joined with Jules Shell to create Foundation Rwanda.

When our friends, Chef Gabe Thompson and Pastry Chef Katherine Thompson, (dell'anima, L'Artusi & Anfora) heard about Foundation Rwanda's efforts to support the education of children affected by the genocide and help empower their mothers, they rolled up their sleeves and offered to help the best way they knew how-- by cooking for a good cause! Foundation Rwanda: An Evening of Food & Fotos was their idea and launched in 2010 in New York thanks to the goodwill and generosity of over 30 acclaimed NYC restaurants and specialty shops, a wide array of talented photographers, and a small army of amazing volunteers. Foundation Rwanda: An Evening of Food & Fotos is an annual event in LA and NY.

Why help Foundation Rwanda?

There are 20,000 good reasons. An estimated 20,000 children were born as a result of sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide. Due to the stigma associated with rape and HIV/AIDS, these children and their mothers have been severely marginalized by their communities and are not actively seeking help. Their mothers live in extreme poverty and do not have the means to pay their children's school fees. Foundation Rwanda was established to improve the lives of these children by 1) providing funding for their secondary school education, 2) linking their mothers to income generating activities and psychological and medical services, and 3) raising awareness about the consequences of genocide and sexual violence through photography and new media.

We are hosting this event to help sponsor secondary school education for this generation of children who represent the hope for a better future. If you would like to learn more, please visit Foundation Rwanda's Website. To hear the mothers' powerful stories in their own words, please take a moment to watch the short 15 minute Emmy nominated Intended Consequences film or our 30 second Public Service Announcement.

Your support matters. Help sponsor a child today!

All donations are tax-deductible. $350 will sponsor a child for one of year of high school including school fees, books, uniforms, shoes and transportation. It will also help link their mother to medical and psychological support. Any contribution is welcome and greatly appreciated.

To donate, please visit: http://www.foundationrwanda.org/Donate.aspx

Be a key sponsor of Food & Fotos! Join the amazing organziations and individuals who make Foundation Rwanda: An Evening of Food & Fotos possible and become one of our key event sponsors. If you would like to discuss partnering with us please contact Jules Shell at jules@foundationrwanda.org or 917-815-7785.

Sponsorship Levels

$100,000 platinum school level:

$50,000 gold classroom level:

$25,000 silver student level:

$10,000 bronze tutor level:

$5,000 mentor level:

Foundation Rwanda and Charity Buzz will offer an online auction of luxury culinary, sports and entertainment items that opens on March 27 and ends on April 17. Have a look at the auction site!

An exciting silent auction co-curated by David Friend (Vanity Fair) and Aidan Sullivan (Getty Images) will feature rare, iconic prints of by some of the world's best rock photographers. The auction will end at 8.30, so be sure to arrive in time to get in your bid! If you can't make the event but can't bear the thought of not having one of these prints, please contact info@foundationrwanda.org for a copy of the photo catalogue and a proxy bid sheet.