“Hope is a Red Cup” is a collection of photographs I took in
Northern Nicaragua during July 2008. I was traveling with staff and volunteers
of Friends of the World Food Program at the time, visiting WFP development
programs in that region. Prior to departure, I was told: “This will change your
life.” I had no idea how true those words would be.
We arrived on a hot,
humid Sunday afternoon and headed into the northern-most reaches of the country
to visit small villages that were only accessible by all-terrain vehicles. Our
first stop, a clinic for mothers and children, gave me a glimpse into a world
that I had never before seen up close. Hunger is a worldwide issue. I’m not
talking about the hunger pangs of eating lunch a couple of hours late or
skipping dinner and waking up hungry. This is the hunger that is the No. 1
health risk worldwide that deeply impacts a child's physical and mental
developmental abilities for life.
During the entire trip, I was struck by the hope that I saw
in the faces of the children we met, despite the poverty and hunger battles
they were fighting each day. I wanted to find a way to help the children that I
was meeting and photographing, and I started brainstorming ways to do it. While
in the first round of editing the images after I returned from the trip, the
idea for the book was born. I would tell their story, as well as show their
images. “Hope is a Red Cup” is my unique and personal contribution to
the global community to help end hunger not only in Nicaragua, but around the
world.
This is only the beginning. I will be traveling with Friends
of WFP in 2009 to Peru and Africa to photograph the people whose lives are
changed by WFP programs in those areas. The images I take on upcoming trips
will be added to the “Hope is a Red Cup” collection, in the hope of bringing
more awareness and needed funds to help end world hunger.
More images from Nicaragua can be viewed on my website at
www.rachelhofer.com. Together, the exhibit and the book are available to use as
a fundraiser. If you are interested in hosting a fundraising event with these
images, please contact Friends of WFP at outreach@friendsofwfp.org.
-Rachel Hofer
Photographer
Purchase the book, "Hope is a Red Cup"