Save the Children goes 'Plumpy-Nuts' at the Eisteddfod
Eisteddfod-goers will be excused from thinking that they have lost the plot when they come face-to-face with a giant peanut roaming around the field of the National Eisteddfod held in Cardiff this week (August 2-9).
Friday 1 August 2008
Save the Children’s ‘Plumpy Nut’ hopes to inspire some of the 170,000 visitors to the Eisteddfod to get involved with the charity’s biggest-ever global campaign which aims to stop 10 million children from dying before their fifth birthday each year.
Plumpy-Nut is a high protein and high energy peanut-based paste, packed with vitamins and minerals and specially formulated for severely malnourished children.
Save the Children, working in partnership with the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, will have a stall at the Eisteddfod to raise awareness of child hunger and the vital role of food aid in keeping vulnerable children alive in the world’s poorest countries.
Not getting enough food to eat is one the leading causes of children’s deaths around the world. Of the 10 million children who die each year before their fifth birthday malnutrition kills more than a third.
This interactive stall will highlight the work of Save the Children and throughout the week there will be plenty of activities for children and families to get involved.
There will be a feeding station just like one of the hundreds of stations the charity has set up in countries like Niger in West Africa. Here, Eisteddfod-goers can find out how children are classed as malnourished and what Save the Children, together with its partner, the European Commission, does to help them.
All visitors to the feeding station who sign up to the campaign will be issued with a free arm band. Visitors to the stall can also show their support by writing fifth birthday cards that will be sent to Gordon Brown.
As part of the Child Survival Campaign the charity is also asking supporters to knit life-saving hats to be delivered to newborn babies who are at risk of developing pneumonia. Hats have been flowing in like there’s no tomorrow, with thousands of those from generous Welsh knitters. There will be an opportunity to learn more about the ‘Knit One, Save One’ campaign at the Eisteddfod.
There will also be an opportunity to get involved in our work on child poverty here in Wales and in the UK. Nearly 1-in-3 children in Wales (29%) live in poverty and for them and their families life is getting tougher.
The government has said it will halve child poverty by 2010, so it’s vital that we make them keep the promise. On 4 October, Save the Children are involved in the largest ever event to end child poverty, at Trafalgar Square in central London. This is a unique opportunity for the public to show their support and visitors to the Eisteddfod are invited to join our campaign and help lift a million children out of poverty.
Eleri Thomas, Interim Programme Director of Save the Children in Wales said: “At Save the Children, we want families to know more about the many ways they can help save and make a difference to children's lives. We hope that people will join Save the Children and the European Commission at the Eisteddfod to take part in simple actions which can help stop millions of children dying before the age of five each year. Save the Children are also calling on the Welsh Assembly and UK Government to keep their promise of eradicating child poverty.”
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