On Sunday 17th November, Ravinder Bhogal will host Jikoni’s annual birthday fundraiser at the restaurant in Marylebone, in collaboration with her dear friends and colleagues Georgina Hayden, Tarunima Sinha and Samantha Hine. The evening will raise vital funds for Tommy’s, Sands and Cosmic charities. As is tradition on Jikoni's birthday all proceeds and donations will be split evenly amongst the three charities.
Tommy's is the largest UK pregnancy and baby loss charity, funding research into stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage. Sands provides vital support to anyone affected by the death of a baby and Cosmic supports the children’s and neonatal intensive care units at St Mary’s & Queen Charlotte’s Hospital by helping patients and their families, and by enabling a dedicated team of nurses and doctors to treat hundreds of babies and children in intensive care.
Ravinder said, “I chose to go public about my baby loss earlier this year and was astounded by the multitude of “me too” messages and emails that followed the publication of my personal essay in the Times. It’s clear we need to talk about baby loss and break the taboos and shame surrounding it. I hope that in hosting this event we not only raise essential funds, but we send a message of solidarity to all those affected, to let them know they are not alone. I am so deeply touched by the support from this sisterhood of beloved women who have each been affected by their own loss and are coming together for this event with me, because when we come together collectively, we heal and can help others too. I can’t think of a better way to mark our 8th birthday”.
The evening will feature a feast cooked by Ravinder and the Jikoni team and leading chefs and food writers Georgina Hayden and Tarunima Sinha. It will include a hearty vegetarian thali, recipes from Georgina’s bestselling book Greekish, and a delectable seasonal cake by Tarunima Sinha who wrote her debut book My Little Cake Tin earlier this year, and whose baking has a cult following. Drinks are kindly provided by Axia Spirit and Old Bakery Gin. Guests can also expect to find a memorial tree, for those wishing to participate and a handmade keepsake place setting, curated by Samantha Hine.
There will also be an online prize competition open to anyone who would like to support these brilliant charities. There are wonderful prizes worth hundreds of pounds including a bespoke “I run a right shipwreck” candle from ceramicist Martha Freud, portrait session with photographer Kristen Perers, bespoke napkin commision by Sew Bella, original artwork by Christa Mavroudis, £250 gift card for By Rotation, dinner for 4 at NoMad Restaurant, tickets for 2 at Opera Holland Park, jewellery by Alighieri and many more....
“This year marks what should have been our son, Archimedes’, 10th birthday and I’ve been wanting to celebrate it in a positive way. Working with Ravinder, Sam and Tarunima on this dinner feels like the perfect way to raise awareness and talk about our babies, whilst also hopefully empowering others to open up too. Archie was stillborn at full term, and I’ll never forget how lost I felt in those early days and months. Sands were a lifeline for me, helping me navigate my grief but also in making friends with others in the same position. I hope by supporting Sands, and all these incredible charities, we can help break the taboo around baby loss, and make sure no one ever feels alone. ”
“Loosing a chance to be parents is a life changing experience. For my husband and I, it has been heartbreaking and shattered dreams, like many who share this pain. Decades later, we are at peace in our hearts and try and navigate life with smile and positivity. Something at the time we didn’t know how we will manage. Having no children doesn’t define us, yet the pain feels raw and triggers from time to time and the loss is very real. We should talk about it more. Our friends and family as a society need to learn, to hear and care more. Husbands and partners share the pain equally and sometimes bear it all silently and go unnoticed. ”
“Our son Jenson was perfect, he made us a family. However, when he was 21 days old, he caught a terrible infection. This August he would have celebrated his 11th birthday and, started secondary school. This felt the right moment to celebrate his life with the help of Ravinder, Tarunima and Georgie. Sometimes life doesn’t always go the way you plan and moments in time can change you, test your friendships and make you reassess what is really important. This event is about highlighting child loss and creating a safe place to express our feelings, break the taboo and to thank those charities that have helped us along the way. The kindness and support shown to us by the incredible team at COSMIC at a time when we were so lost, will never be forgotten and I hope that this event helps raise awareness and funds to help others in their time of need. ”
About the Charities
Tommy's
From a campaign that began in a spare cupboard in St Thomas’ Hospital, Tommy’s is now the largest UK charity researching the causes and prevention of pregnancy complications, miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.
We concentrate on sharing our knowledge from our centres and implementing it across the NHS, so that every family can have access to the best possible care. To that end, Tommy’s National Centre for Maternity Improvement was founded in September 2019. This is an alliance between parents, midwives, doctors, the NHS and academic experts, to drive improvement in maternity services and save babies’ lives.
Sands
Sands exists to reduce the number of babies dying and to support anyone affected by the death of a baby, before, during or shortly after birth, whenever this happened and for as long as they need support.
Sands works in partnership with health care professionals, trusts and health boards and offers a range of training programmes and bereavement care resources to ensure that every bereaved parent and family receives the best possible care wherever they are in the UK.
Cosmic
Cosmic supports the children’s and neonatal intensive care units at St Mary’s & Queen Charlotte’s Hospital by helping patients and their families, and by enabling our dedicated team of nurses and doctors to treat hundreds of babies and children in intensive care.
We go above and beyond what the NHS can’t afford purchasing vital state of the art equipment, providing training for health professionals, funding a programme of groundbreaking research into life-threatening diseases and supporting families through one of the most difficult times in their life with one to one support, advice, counselling, accommodation for parents.