HOPING for UNRWA Breakfast at Harrods

Eva Herzigova, Laura Bailey, Stephen Frears, Bay Garnett, Dan Macmillan, Jeremy Paxman, Rifat Ozbek, Johnny Shand-Kydd and Philip Treacy joined HOPING Foundation founders Bella Freud and Karma Nabulsi for the HOPING for UNRWA breakfast at Harrods.  Guests from the fashion, arts, and media worlds turned up in force early Tuesday morning to hear UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness speak about the challenges faced by Palestinian refugee children, focusing on the refugee camps in Syria and Gaza.

Chris Gunness said: “It’s been a real privilege to come to London and tell this audience about the children of Palestine and beyond,” he said. “A six year old child in Gaza will have lived through three wars. A five year old in Syria will have known nothing but conflict. The work of the HOPING Foundation and UNRWA recognises that each child in this context has a dignity and a destiny that must be recognised, respected and nurtured. It’s a message that cannot be emphasised enough. ” 

Also amongst the guests were Mary-Kay Wilmer (author, and editor of the London Review of Books), Caroline Issa and Masoud Golsorkhi from Tank Magazine, award-winning film-maker Gerry Fox, Alice Brudenell-Bruce, Sisley’s Christine D’Ornano, Amanda Sheppard, Paula Goldstein and Greta Bellamacina.

HOPING stands for Hope and Optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation. The charity provides grants to grassroots community centres in Palestinian refugee camps that give children the opportunity to play, learn and express themselves creatively through art, photography, film, music, theatre, dance and sport.