Charity

UK charity asks people to give up one indulgent item this Christmas to feed a hungry child in Africa for a month

A UK based international charity is asking people to sacrifice one extra food or drink item this Christmas and donate the money they would have spent, to feed a child in Africa for a month.

Leicester based Feed The Hungry UK which works to combat hunger abroad, is asking people to go without a usual Christmas treat such as a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine and donate the money they would have spent so they, with just £5, can feed a hungry child in Africa for a month.

Gwyn Williams, Operations Director at Feed The Hungry UK, which is based in Hinkley, says for many people Christmas is a time of overindulgence, which leaves feeling overly full of food and drink and starting the New Year with a determination either to lose weight or to get back to more healthy eating. So, whilst giving up an item costing around £5 will not spoil Christmas it will demonstrate how lucky most of us are and help a child who might otherwise have nothing receive a well-balanced meal for a month.

He said: “Most of us who are lucky enough to be financially secure, will not only have a very hearty meal on Christmas day and Boxing day but for many people most of the festive period is spent consuming far more than they would usually do or actually need and statistics show they generally feel for worse for it.

“Eating too much, feeling sleepy and suffering from indigestion and even a bad stomach are commonly complained about things over the festive period and actually a lot of what people buy really isn’t necessary and often gets wasted.

“The extra box of chocolates we pick up and end up throwing half of them away as no one likes those flavours of the bottle of something we only buy at Christmas and never get around to drinking could be used to make a real difference for a child.”

Now the charity is asking people to make a pledge about the thing ‘they can live without’ this Christmas and donate £5 or whatever it would have cost to Feed The Hungry UK and encourage their friends to do the same  on social media throughout December using #ICanLiveWithout and then the name of the item they won’t be buying.

Feed the Hungry currently feed over 268,000 children around the world every day on a specially designed and balanced diet which includes, rice, lentils, soya and a packet of micronutrients which also act as a flavouring. The diet contains all the vital vitamins and minerals and is vegan so it is easy to store and cook, and can be supplemented with local vegetables, where available.

Most of the children are fed at schools and other educational settings and for many of them it will be there only proper meal that day.*

Gwyn added: “We know at Christmas people want to have a good time and enjoy themselves and we don’t want to spoil that, but in the spirit of giving and sharing we are asking if there is one thing they can live without in order to help a child who really cannot live without the food we provide.

“By giving up something small, your donation is magnified more than tenfold as £5 would not go very far in the UK, but we can use it to feel a child for a whole month, so actually it is worth its weight in gold.”

For further information about the appeal and to donate please visit: https://feedthehungry.org.uk/livewithout/.

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