Wall against hunger: Fill the Red Cup

With 25 US cents (91 fils), a person in the UAE can buy a cup of tea from a cafeteria or a packet of biscuits from a supermarket. But do you know by contributing 25 cents to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), you can fill a ‘Red Cup' that can feed a hungry child a meal of porridge, a bowl of rice or a handful of beans?

The WFP estimates that it would cost about $3 billion (Dh11 billion) per year to feed all 59 million hungry children worldwide, while $1.2 billion (Dh4 billion) would provide meals for the 23 million children in 45 of the neediest African countries.

Campaign for a cause

"Contribution to the WFP has increased after the launch of the campaign ‘Wall Against Hunger' that has generated over $76,000 (Dh278,920) in the last one year," said Christine Whitehouse, Public Information Officer, World Food Programme.

In an e-mail to XPRESS, Whitehouse said what was inspiring about the campaign was the "uploading of the donor's picture on the WFP's website to give it a personal touch". So far, 500 donors have posted their pictures on the ‘Wall', Whitehouse said.

The Fill the Cup campaign literally aims to fill a cup with food for all of the 59 million children who go to school hungry throughout the world – boosting their chances for health, education and a more promising future.

The World Footballer of the Year, Kaka of Brazil who plays for AC Milan, is one of the first global celebrities to endorse the Fill the Cup campaign in his role as a WFP ambassador against hunger.

Celebrity donation

"Even Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore has donated $1 million (Dh3.67 million) to the World Food Programme on the Oprah Winfrey Show with part of her donations given to thousands of hungry children in Kenya," said Whitehouse.

The WFP has a whopping budget of $5.2 billion (Dh19 billion) this year to feed hungry children all over the world. More than 90 per cent of the agency's funding goes toward food for the hungry and the costs associated with delivering that food.

31,000

dollars collected by the wfp from the wall against hunger campaign