Bream Bay aims to raise $5000 for Famine

Each year more than 120,000 Kiwis take part in the Famine." More than 5300 Northlanders will go without food, technology or speaking this weekend as part of World Vision's 40 Hour Famine.

This year, the 40 Hour Famine is raising money for children living in extreme poverty in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

Bream Bay College has 148 students signed up. Year 13 prefect Kelly Gillingham has been busy organising the event which runs this Saturday and Sunday. Kelly has been working alongside six schoolmates, Jaime Newton, Emma Thirkettle, Charlotte Colebrook, Rebecca Lucas and Olive Grant to coordinate the event at Bream Bay College.

Their goal is to raise $5000 for the cause.

The Famine has been an annual fundraising event for World Vision since 1974, and is no longer strictly a famine of food. Popular alternative famines are 40 hours without technology, 40 hours without using furniture, and 40 hours without speaking.

Kelly has done the 40 Hour Famine every year since she was 8-years-old and said the 40 hours without technology was the hardest for her.

Kelly and her committee are holding an extra fundraising event by selling kumara muffins and kumara chips.

"That's predominantly what they eat in Bougainville: kumara as well as taro," she said.

The United Nations' Human Development Index (which measures wellbeing) ranks Papua New Guinea at 157 out of 187 countries while New Zealand is ranked sixth.

Each year more than 120,000 Kiwis take part in the Famine and raise over $2 million for children in the developing world.