Wayuu Taya – Donna Karan and Jimena Navarrete “Miss Universe” speak to Good News.
When: Monday, June 13, 2011, 6:30pm Cocktail Reception; 8:00pm Dinner & Live Auction
What: The 8th Annual Wayuu Taya Foundation Gala. Honorary Co-Chairs Patricia Velasquez, Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan and Russell Simmons.
Honoring Padma Lakshmi, Co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and Author and Host of Emmy Award-winning Top Chef; Debbie Meyer, Inventor, award-winning Entrepreneur, Mentor, and international brand; Veronique Pittman, Social Entrepreneur and Eco Activist; and Catherine Shimoney, Co-founder Global Goods Partners.
Host is Lola Ogunnaike. Guest speaker is Kathy Eldon, Founder and President of The Creative Visions Foundation. Musical Performance by Grammy Award Winning Violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Tony Nominated Star of Rent Daphne Rubin Vega.
Where: Urban Zen at Stephan Weiss Studio, 711 Greenwich Street, New York City
RSVP: For more information and tickets visit www.wayuutaya.org
About Wayuu Taya:
Wayuu Taya is a 501(c)3 non governmental, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to help improve the lives of Latin-American indigenous communities while maintaining and respecting their traditions, culture and beliefs. Wayúu Tayá Foundation was founded by Wayúu model and actress. Patricia Velasquez. Since its creation, Wayúu Tayá has concentrated its efforts in assisting the Wayúu, an indigenous group of over 450,000 people, located in the Guajira Peninsula of northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela.
Wayúu’s, commonly referred to as Guajiros, are an Amerindian ethic group that have been able to avoid European acculturation over the centuries. The Guajira region is characterized by being very dry and arid, as well as extremely poor in most rural areas.
After the tragic events of the earthquake that hit Port Au Prince, Wayúu Tayá has expanded its work to Haiti with the creation of the Help Haiti Hope initiative. Currently expanding into the Amazon where it will support healthcare and education initiatives, benefiting major indigenous groups such as the Jivi, Yanomami and Piaroa.
