Lucy Pargeter
We're on day three of exploring what the celebrities from this year's selection of 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' contestants have to say about Malaria No More UK - the charity every contestant is backing this year, with 15p from every vote made going to the charity to help save lives in Africa.
Model Amy Willerton details how her own struggles make her want to help any way she can: “my little brother is severely disabled and I’ve been a big campaigner and fundraiser for disability and children’s causes all my life. With my brother, one of the main things that we’ve always found incredibly hard to accept is that there is nothing we can do about his disability, but with malaria there is something we can all do. Malaria kills way more people every year than the population of my hometown Bristol, yet it is totally preventable and treatable. It’s fantastic to know that my time in the jungle will absolutely stop someone losing a life.”
Lucy Pargeter reveals why the charity tugs on her heartstrings: “I will miss my family so much in the jungle but at least I know I will be able to return to them at the end of the run. To hear that so many children die from malaria in Africa is awful. These families they will never be reunited, the statistics are absolutely ridiculous. But it is fantastic that in the last 10 years deaths from this killer disease have gone down by a third in Africa. If that can be done then the end really is in sight. Prevention is so simple. It is massively about education and giving people the tools to stop malaria. Here in the UK people don’t comprehend it because they don’t have to deal with it. If my time in the jungle can go someway in helping to raise awareness and save children’s lives then those jungle bugs will be worth it!”
Jungle heartthrob and Westlife member Kian Egan comments: “I’m a hugely proud dad of our soon-to-be two year old son, so it breaks my heart to think every minute a dad somewhere in this world loses his child to malaria. When you have a child, them getting sick is your biggest fear. I find it hard to imagine the idea of living with the daily threat of a killer disease like malaria. I travelled to Africa with Westlife, we went to Namibia and South Africa and made sure we took our antimalarials. It’s ridiculous to hear that so many people are dying when we have the ability to prevent it. At the end of the day it is down to awareness. To us a mosquito bite is an inconvenience, but for families in Africa it can be an absolute killer. The fact that my time in the jungle will help save lives is pretty awe-inspiring.”
Viewers can donate to Malaria No More UK online at www.malarianomore.org.uk/donate.
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