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More Christchurch residents have donated to Save the Children's East Africa Food Crisis appeal than any other Kiwi community

Wednesday 17 August 2011, 9:41AM

By Save The Children

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CHRISTCHURCH

In spite of suffering from a series of earthquakes and being the recipients of emergency relief efforts themselves, Save the Children New Zealand says more Christchurch residents have given to its ongoing East Africa Food Crisis appeal than any other New Zealand community.

The results, based on total donations as of Monday, showed that Christchurch residents made up 14 % of all donations.

Auckland came second at 11 % of the total, and Wellington came third, with 10 % of the total.

CEO of Save the Children New Zealand Liz Gibbs says that while all New Zealanders have shown an amazing amount of generosity for East Africa, the numbers of donors from Christchurch is a testament to that community’s open-handedness and compassion.

“I think that part of it may be that when you deal with challenges yourself you may be even more aware of how important help and support are,” Ms Gibbs says.

“When you think about how much New Zealand has already donated to Christchurch, the generosity that we’ve had for our East Africa appeal is really staggering. To also see people in Christchurch being so generous themselves is an especially good story. In times like these I think it is really important to keep celebrating this huge spirit of generosity.”

In total, New Zealanders have contributed $237, 600 to Save the Children New Zealand’s East Africa Food Crisis. The average donation from any one donor is currently $137.

Save the Children has worked in East Africa for over twenty years and is in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia providing life-saving nutrition and water programmes, supporting breastfeeding mothers and feeding thousands of acutely malnourished children across the region.

To donate to Save the Children New Zealand visit www.savethechildren.org.nz or telephone 0800 167 168
Media enquiries should be sent to patrick@savethechildren.org.nz (+64 4 389 2229 ext 235 Mobiles: 0297 704 680 or 0210 825 1072).

Note to the editor: Save the Children is the world's leading independent organisation for children with members in 29 countries making a difference to children's lives in over 120 countries, including New Zealand and the Pacific. Save the Children's vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.