Top Kiwi Actresses Face Up to Help Children in Need

Top Kiwi Actresses Face Up to Help Children in Need

By Fleur Revell
17 June 2014

Two of New Zealand’s best loved actresses have joined forces to back a charitable campaign which raises funds for children living with disabilities in the world’s poorest countries.

Shavaughn Ruakere and Antonia Prebble are the latest ambassadors to lend their support to the FACEUP4cbm campaign – a project from international organisation cbm to urgently raise funds for children with disabilities in some of the world’s poorest countries.

As part of the unique charitable campaign supporters are encouraged to upload their picture to FACEUP4cbm.com and literally FACEUP to child poverty while making a donation. Once their donation has been made their image will appear on the FACEUP4cbm.com website. It’s a personalised way for any individual or company to show their support.

The former star of popular Kiwi comedy Outrageous Fortune Prebble says she’s honoured to put her name and face to the campaign.

“Reading the stories of the children cbm has helped is both heart breaking – to see how what they have gone through – and heart-warming – to see how much their lives have since improved.”

“The FACEUP4cbm campaign gave me the opportunity to help them help more children who urgently need our support, I encourage you to “upload a photo” and get behind this incredibly important campaign,” says Prebble.

Star of Sione’s Wedding, River Queen and Shortland St, Shavaughn Ruakere, says the welfare of children is something that has always been close to her heart, thanks partly to the years she spent fronting children’s show, What Now?

“Poverty plus disability makes for one very difficult life,” says Ruakere. “But let’s not think the problem is too big and turn away; let’s FACE UP and do something small to help others in a big way.”

The National Director for cbm Darren Ward says Ruakere and Prebble join International netball player Leana de Bruin in raising awareness of the plight of these children and the difficulties they endure on a daily basis.

Ward says evidence of the difference Kiwi donations can make is illustrated best by the story of Laxmi, a young Nepalese girl, whose journey provides the backdrop for the new FACEUP4cbm campaign.

“Laxmi badly burnt her left leg as a baby and subsequently it never grew. When her friends walked to school she was forced to crawl in the dirt behind them, over sharp rocks in the rugged Nepal terrain and even across a stream. She was taunted by other children and left broken both physically and emotionally,” says Ward.

Her parents, both farmers were unable to pay for treatment but thanks to the generosity of cbm supporters she was fitted with a prosthetic leg and was able to walk for the first time,” says Ward.

It was this story that saw Ruakere compelled to become involved in the campaign.

“Think about your commute to work or school. Now think about crawling it,” says Raukere. “That’s what Laxmi had to do every day before she was fitted with prosthetics”.

Ruakere encourages Kiwis to help the kids by signing up to FACEUP4cbm today, because “we can help children like Laxmi and thousands more,” she says.

According to Ward, around 13,000 one-off donations are needed to complete the campaign and those people wanting to be involved can do so for as little as $5.

“The size of the image that will appear will depend on the size of the donation. Each $30 represents a month of sponsorship for a child in need and will help provide them with life-saving and ongoing care they need for a better life”, says Ward.

One of the largest organisations for disability and development in the world, cbm funds approximately 10 million medical treatments, helping 850,000 of those receive an operation for their eyes, ears and limbs. It also provides specialist training for over 100,000 people including 2000 doctors, 5000 nurses and 20,000 teachers each year.

Go to www.faceup4cbm.com to find out more and see Laxmi’s journey or to join the FACEUP4cbm campaign.

ENDS

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