Donations have been collected now for the 30 Hour Famine and we raised enough to feed over 800 starving children! Thank you so much to those who did the famine and those who sponsored us. You really are making a difference.
Well, we did it, 30 hours without food, just water and some Barley Sugars (quite happy if we never have to have another of those for a while!). We have raised enough to feed 720 children, short of our target of 2000, so we are still fundraising this week - right up until the 28th Feb. So please help feed these starving children and donate today.
Reports suggest that an estimated 45% of the total population in Fiji live in poverty of varying degrees and over 40% of children in Fiji are malnourished. Around 104,000 people in Fiji currently reside in squatter settlements (shanty towns). The squatter population includes Indigenous Fijian as well as Indo-Fijian families. Considerable concerns are being expressed that an increasing number of children who are day scholars bring inadequate or no lunches to school. While aid agencies largely concentrate upon development-focused approaches to poverty alleviation, the immediate needs of children such as nutrition and access to education remain unattended. Voluntary agencies often struggle to cater for the growing number of children in need of assistance, food, shelter, and education. There are indications of declining health conditions among children of all ages. Their decline is a loss of human resource upon which communities grow and develop. Although basic food supplies are distributed to destitute families in some areas, appropriate feeding programs and children's nutritional needs in urban as well as rural communities remain neglected.
Breakfast this morning - a glass of water and a barley sugar....
So who is doing this 30 Hour Famine anyway? Lauren Edwards, Graeme Clemett, Debbie Leaning, Mark Leaning, Alan Decker and Maria Armenis - a small group of friends who really love Nourish The Children and what they are doing to stop childhood death from malnutrition around the globe. You can follow their progress on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/30Hr-Famine/169320656552270
Stories to date from the faminers (now with just over three hours to go): One reaching for the cashews on Friday night and stopping herself as she realised she couldn't have them! One working as a demonstrator in a supermarket, with a sausage sizzle going on right outside the door!...One about to grab a coffee!...one playing cardio tennis and golf (twice) during the famine!...and of course lots of stories about the lovely people we meet who are donating to the cause - brilliant.
For several years there have been concerns over the standard of nutrition in Fiji. Data collected in 1993 indicated an increase in under nourishment, particularly deficiencies in micronutrients in children and in mothers leading to health complications and other chronic conditions later in life. Televised images of starving children with distended bellies have brought the problem of global hunger home to people in developed countries. Sadly, however, the problem is far deeper than an immediate lack of food particularly in countries like Fiji. The extent of hunger and malnutrition are not clearly visible, misunderstood and even neglected by authorities and international agencies. Child malnutrition is expected to increase to epidemic proportions. A 2004 report by the Food and Nutrition Committee indicated that over 40% of Fiji's children are malnourished. The situation is rather acute in more disadvantaged areas, particularly in squatter settlements where around 104,000 people currently reside. It is obvious that nutrition is a critical factor affecting children and nutritional feeding programs are needed to improve the situation of thousands of children living in poverty conditions.
For more info and postings from the team and sponsors, follow our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/30Hr-Famine/169320656552270
The 30 Hour Famine is underway as 6 of us go without food and drink other than water and some barley sugars from Noon Friday to 6pm Saturday. Tummies are rumbling but the donations are coming in thick and fast via give-a-little and in person - thanks everyone for making a difference.
