NZ youth shape history for children in sub-Saharan Africa
New Zealand’s largest youth fundraising event, the World Vision 40 Hour Famine, is back and bigger than ever, with tens of thousands of students across the country set to take on a challenge or go without something they rely on for 40 hours – and it’s all in the name of stopping the hunger pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
For 40 hours from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th June, about 90,000 young New Zealanders are expected to take part and raise much-needed funds for children and families in sub-Saharan Africa who are facing what could be the biggest hunger crisis of our lifetime.
This year, three of Aotearoa’s most loved young Kiwis – rugby star Caleb Clarke, model and body positivity advocate Jess Quinn and singer and songwriter Paige Tapara – are championing the World Vision 40 Hour Famine as ambassadors, each of them determined to use their platforms to help make as big an impact for children in sub-Saharan Africa as possible.
“I encourage each and every young Kiwi to take part in the World Vision 40 Hour Famine. In the scheme of things, 40 hours isn’t a very long time, yet the impact we can make for children in sub-Saharan Africa is massive,” says Caleb.
“At times, it can be easy to forget that there are many people around the world living a very different life to us; the World Vision 40 Hour Famine not only brings this to the forefront, but it gives us the tools we need to simply use what we have to make real and lasting change for children who desperately need it,” adds Jess.
Paige adds that while it doesn’t take a huge amount of effort for Kiwis to put 40 hours aside to help children, families and communities in sub-Saharan Africa, ‘the effort from all of us, collectively, will make a huge difference’.
“As COVID-19 worsens the damage the extreme poverty, climate change, a recent locust plague and decades of conflict have already done, for children in sub-Saharan Africa, our efforts are needed now, more than ever,” says Paige.
Money raised in this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Famine will help protect children threatened by the hunger pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The fundraising efforts of young Kiwis will put food on the table for those who go entire days without eating, provide seeds which will generate food to feed families for months and years to come and give families chickens to provide daily eggs and organic fertiliser for fast-growing crops.
Those who join Paige, Caleb and Jess in taking part simply need to live without something they rely on for 40 hours, like transport, furniture, technology or food, and raise as much money as possible while they’re at it.
Plus, those who sign up online will have the chance to win one of three special, history-shaping prizes – a rugby coaching session with Caleb, a sit-down session with Paige or a morning tea with Jess.
Since it started in 1975, the World Vision 40 Hour Famine has raised more than $80 million and brought hope to thousands of children living in poverty in more than 40 countries, for causes ranging from the Ethiopian famine to climate change, HIV/AIDS and the Syrian refugee crisis, to name a few. More than three million New Zealanders have participated in the World Vision 40 Hour Famine since it began.
Around the world more than 30 million people, half of them children, are one step away from famine. They are being starved by conflict and violence, by the impacts of climate change, by inequality and by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns.
Worldwide, as many as 25 million people will lose their jobs due to COVID-19 – in sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of job losses for people already living in extreme poverty is devastating. Many families have little or no savings to get through the tough times or to provide for their children’s basic needs, like food and shelter.
Meanwhile, rising food prices across the globe has made it even harder for families already struggling to access food. Globally food prices rose 14% in 2020. In Kenya, the price of maize, an essential food, has gone up 60% since 2019. For families already struggling, price rises make hunger even worse.
Contact:
Evie Marinkovich, Media Advisor - PR & Social, World Vision New Zealand
Evie.Marinkovich@worldvision.org.nz | +64 9 583 0404
For 40 hours from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th June, about 90,000 young New Zealanders are expected to take part and raise much-needed funds for children and families in sub-Saharan Africa who are facing what could be the biggest hunger crisis of our lifetime.
This year, three of Aotearoa’s most loved young Kiwis – rugby star Caleb Clarke, model and body positivity advocate Jess Quinn and singer and songwriter Paige Tapara – are championing the World Vision 40 Hour Famine as ambassadors, each of them determined to use their platforms to help make as big an impact for children in sub-Saharan Africa as possible.
“I encourage each and every young Kiwi to take part in the World Vision 40 Hour Famine. In the scheme of things, 40 hours isn’t a very long time, yet the impact we can make for children in sub-Saharan Africa is massive,” says Caleb.
“At times, it can be easy to forget that there are many people around the world living a very different life to us; the World Vision 40 Hour Famine not only brings this to the forefront, but it gives us the tools we need to simply use what we have to make real and lasting change for children who desperately need it,” adds Jess.
Paige adds that while it doesn’t take a huge amount of effort for Kiwis to put 40 hours aside to help children, families and communities in sub-Saharan Africa, ‘the effort from all of us, collectively, will make a huge difference’.
“As COVID-19 worsens the damage the extreme poverty, climate change, a recent locust plague and decades of conflict have already done, for children in sub-Saharan Africa, our efforts are needed now, more than ever,” says Paige.
Money raised in this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Famine will help protect children threatened by the hunger pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The fundraising efforts of young Kiwis will put food on the table for those who go entire days without eating, provide seeds which will generate food to feed families for months and years to come and give families chickens to provide daily eggs and organic fertiliser for fast-growing crops.
Those who join Paige, Caleb and Jess in taking part simply need to live without something they rely on for 40 hours, like transport, furniture, technology or food, and raise as much money as possible while they’re at it.
Plus, those who sign up online will have the chance to win one of three special, history-shaping prizes – a rugby coaching session with Caleb, a sit-down session with Paige or a morning tea with Jess.
Since it started in 1975, the World Vision 40 Hour Famine has raised more than $80 million and brought hope to thousands of children living in poverty in more than 40 countries, for causes ranging from the Ethiopian famine to climate change, HIV/AIDS and the Syrian refugee crisis, to name a few. More than three million New Zealanders have participated in the World Vision 40 Hour Famine since it began.
Around the world more than 30 million people, half of them children, are one step away from famine. They are being starved by conflict and violence, by the impacts of climate change, by inequality and by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns.
Worldwide, as many as 25 million people will lose their jobs due to COVID-19 – in sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of job losses for people already living in extreme poverty is devastating. Many families have little or no savings to get through the tough times or to provide for their children’s basic needs, like food and shelter.
Meanwhile, rising food prices across the globe has made it even harder for families already struggling to access food. Globally food prices rose 14% in 2020. In Kenya, the price of maize, an essential food, has gone up 60% since 2019. For families already struggling, price rises make hunger even worse.
Contact:
Evie Marinkovich, Media Advisor - PR & Social, World Vision New Zealand
Evie.Marinkovich@worldvision.org.nz | +64 9 583 0404