When Ron “JR” Schoenfeld of Chives Restaurant traveled to Rwanda in December 2009, a seed was planted between him and Father Leszek Czelusniak, director of the Marion Missions Kibeho-Rwanda. With a passion for food mixed with a little love for this great country, hope for their future and a blessing from Father Leszek, the Seven Loaves Project began to bloom.

We cannot forget the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that resulted in the massacre of 800,000+ people in less than 100 days. Today, the Rwandan people try to move forward and escape its stigma and violent past. Nearly two thirds of the population of Rwanda lives below the poverty line. Most try and survive on less than $1 per day.

The Seven Loaves Project is committed to building a vocational center, the teaching of villagers to bake nutritious breads, and building new wood-fired bread ovens in remote locations throughout Rwanda. This is a grassroots project to not only feed the hungry, but also to stimulate rural African communities in vocational training, economic development, and nutrition.

Construction of the Seven Loaves Project vocational center began in October of 2010 in Kibeho. At the vocational center site, the wood fired oven was built in January 2011, by a professional oven builder from New York. Construction of this facility is almost complete.

In March of 2011, we traveled to Rwanda to visit the site. Building our inventory began the first few days we arrived; wheeling and dealing on different types of flour, buying metal to have the locals make our baking pans, and finding fresh, local ingredients to add nutrition to our breads. The next week was spent firing the oven, mixing dough and teaching bread basics. A Grand Opening celebration is planned for the fall of 2011.

Our goals are to perfect our product in Rwanda and continue to fundraise to spread awareness, ovens and opportunity in their communities.Through your continued support, our fundraising goals are to raise enough money for a bread delivery vehicle in Rwanda and to build our first oven in a remote village.

Today, Chives Restaurant continues to hold bake sales every Thursday with all proceeds benefitting the Seven Loaves Project. Fundraising events happen regularly. The Seven Loaves Project has the tools necessary and a man with a passion behind it, but much more is needed to bring the project to fruition.

Tax deductible donations will go directly toward teaching bakers, maintaining the vocational center, paying employees at the vocational center, subsidizing flour purchases, delivering bread throughout Rwanda and the construction of wood-fired bread ovens in remote locations.

You can donate online on this site or send a gift of money in the form of a check. Checks are made payable to Seven Loaves Project and donations can be sent to:

Seven Loaves Project
2315 Cathedral Forest Drive
Green Bay, WI 54313