Source: ChildFund New Zealand
New Zealand Tongan actor JP Foliaki has won TVNZ’s Celebrity Treasure Island and done it for his home in South Auckland, and for children and young people in the Pacific.
“As a charity, (ChildFund) provide fresh water to the Pacific. It’s one thing to be for your community here in New Zealand, but it’s another thing to look out for your people back home.”
“All of us at ChildFund, from our teams in Auckland, to the teams in Tarawa and the islands of Kiribati and Honiara and Temotu Province in Solomon Islands thank JP with all our hearts for his win tonight,” says CEO of ChildFund, Josie Pagani.
The $100k win will now go to ChildFund’s work in the Pacific, bringing clean water to children and their families who otherwise would not have easy access to drinking water.
“It is unacceptable in 2024 that 1 in 10 deaths for children under 5 years in parts of the Pacific is linked to diarrhea, vomiting and dirty water. This is a problem that is fixable. So let’s fix it,” says CEO of ChildFund Josie Pagani.
The Pacific has some of the highest rates of preventable deaths for children in the world, due largely to dirty water.
ChildFund is bringing clean water to children in Kiribati and Solomon Islands, and will expand its programmes across the region over the next year.
“The Pacific is our home and for many New Zealanders these children are our extended family. We can’t fix all the problems in the world but we can make a difference in the place we call home too.”
“This is how we can help to power the Pacific’s future by making sure children and young people have a decent chance at learning skills and getting an education – rather than getting sick or worse, says Josie Pagani.
Dirty water is linked to diarrhea and vomiting, and causes some of the highest numbers of preventable child deaths in the Pacific:
– 1 in 10 deaths for children under 5 years in Kiribati
– 1 in 14 deaths for children under 5 years in Solomon Islands
– Only 16% of school children In Solomon Islands, have clean, safe water
– Only 27% of households in Kiribati have access to clean, safe water
JP’s win will help to complete the following projects:
– Rebuild a water pipe and pump system that will provide water to 3,000 people in 18 communities as well as the local school the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands
– Provide families in some of the 33 islands and atolls of Kiribati with 10 litre Solvatten units that use solar energy to purify water in just a few hours. Each unit can provide 6,000 litres of safe drinking water every year.
– Install 75 litre solar powered distillation tanks at pre-schools, schools and community centres – giving children access to clean safe drinking water every day.
– Build rainwater harvesting infrastructure (roofs and gutters) to capture precious, albeit infrequent rain.
“We would also like to thank the teams and crew at Celebrity Treasure Island for making this possible, and all the New Zealanders who continue to support our work.”
For every dollar donated, the New Zealand government provides an additional $4
