Lucy Verasamy is best known as a weather forecaster on ITV, but more recently, she has been supporting the Give Hunger the Boot campaign.
Lucy Verasamy
We caught up with her to chat about the campaign, why she got involved, and how everyone can still help out.
- You have thrown your support behind the Give Hunger the Boot at Work fundraiser, so can you tell me a bit about it?
I was shocked to learn that 1 in 4 people in sub-Saharan Africa still go hungry every day.
At a time when there is so much need, I wanted to support a campaign that means that I can do my bit in helping to end hunger - Give Hunger the Boot at Work appealed to me. Wellies and wet weather are also linked to the day job!
- How and why did you decide to get involved with the campaign?
I have supported the charity Farm Africa for some time as its approach to ending hunger by providing practical long-terms solutions just seems like common sense to me.
They don't give people a hand out, they provide people with the skills and seeds to grow crops that mean farming families can build their own futures, not rely on someone else to provide them.
- What message do you have for anyone else that took part this year?
Thank you for pulling your welly boots on for Farm Africa's Give Hunger the Boot at Work campaign.
I had fun wearing my wellies in the studio and I hope that those of you who took part had fun while tackling the serious issue of hunger.
For those of you who missed out on the fun of wearing wellingtons to work find out more about how you too can help Give Hunger the Boot at www.farmafrica.org/ghtb
- 1 in 4 people are sub-Saharan Africa are hungry, just how shocking a fact did you find that for the 21st century?
I admit that I was surprised to learn this statistic was so high. A number that large could make you feel that there is nothing that you can do to change the situation.
I am so glad that I could throw my support behind Give Hunger the Boot, to help end hunger just by getting involved and helping people to help themselves.
How has being involved in this campaign made you aware about how lucky you are to have a regular meal and also of the amount of food that you throw away - something that we are all guilty of?
It makes you stop and take stock.
- There are so many people who are facing a daily struggle in Africa at the moment, how is this campaign hoping to make things better?
Many people in sub-Saharan Africa struggle to feed their families each day.
The beauty of this campaign is that the charity Farm Africa works at the grassroots providing African farming families with the know-how and tools to grow themselves out of poverty and hunger forever.
To try to provide some sense of what the charity is helping to achieve every £350 raised from a Give Hunger the Boot could help a family out of poverty for good.
- This campaign is not about giving these people hand-outs but rather the tools to make life better for them. Surely, this is a more effective way of giving aid?
I'm not a farmer and haven't had to struggle to feed a family against the odds but helping people to help themselves is a great idea.
If you teach people how to grow enough to eat in tough local conditions, they will be better able to adapt themselves when things don't go to plan.