The
UN Foundation and Hotel Rwanda partner to create
“The International Fund for Rwanda”
In an effort to help the
people of Rwanda recover from the effects of the
1994 genocide, the makers of the critically acclaimed
film Hotel Rwanda have partnered with the United
Nations Foundation and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) to create the International Fund
for Rwanda. The fund will support UNDP development
programs that assist survivors on the ground in
Rwanda.
“There is an incredible
story to be told that begins where ‘Hotel
Rwanda’ leaves off, of a country struggling
to rebuild, to learn, and to forgive. The goal
of the film is not only to engage audiences in
this story of the genocide but also to inspire
them to help redress the terrible devastation
visited on that country. We hope to mobilize people
on a grassroots level to get involved in rebuilding
Rwanda,” said the Hotel Rwanda Director,
Co-Writer and Co-Producer Terry George.
Hotel Rwanda has been nominated
for several awards, including three Golden Globes,
three Screen Actors Guild awards, and a Writers
Guild of America award. “We hope to use
the publicity generated by the film to talk about
the needs of people struggling to survive in Rwanda,”
says George, “we are doing an educational
outreach program for schools, and this fund will
enable ordinary people to also contribute.”
The United Nations Foundation
was established in 1997 when businessman and philanthropist
Ted Turner announced his historic gift of $1 billion
in support of United Nations causes. The United
Nations Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous,
and just world through the support of the United
Nations, including enabling and encouraging other
private funders and individuals to join its efforts.
As a fiduciary for the International Fund for
Rwanda, UNF provides individuals and organizations
the opportunity to directly support the work of
the UN Development Programme in Rwanda.
The UN Development Programme
is the UN’s global development network,
an organization advocating for change and connecting
countries to knowledge, experience and resources
to help people build a better life.
Projects of the United Nations
Development Programme to be supported by the International
Fund for Rwanda include: The settling and reintegration
of the many thousands who fled their homes during
the Rwandan Genocide; a film school at the Kigali
Institute of Science, Technology and Management
that would afford Central and East Africans their
first opportunity to tell their stories through
film; the recruitment of the new doctors and nurses
needed to respond to the health crises of HIV/AIDS,
Malaria and Tuberculosis, as thousands of doctors
and nurses were lost in the Genocide; and financial
aid to create economic opportunities for women,
many of whom head households and suffer from AIDS
and extreme poverty as a result of the Genocide.
Contributions can be made
through a link from www.hotelrwanda.com
and from www.unfoundation.org. Details about the
individuals portrayed in the film and the filmmakers
are also available at www.hotelrwanda.com.
For more information please contact press@internationalfundforrwanda.org
or Oorlagh George at Office of Terry George at
(914) 391-5121.
The United Nations
Foundation (UNF) was created in 1998 with businessman
and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic
gift to support United Nations’ causes.
The UN Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous,
and just world through the support of the UN.
Through its grant making and by building new and
innovative public-private partnerships, the UN
Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health,
humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental
challenges of the 21st century.
