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No, Dunedin was not going full out in support of the Netherlands at the Fifa World Cup by lighting up landmarks with orange floodlights at the weekend.
Otago Boys’ High School and Forsyth Barr Stadium were among more than 60 buildings around the country which turned orange in support of the World Vision 40-hour Challenge, which ran from Friday to yesterday.
Also lit up orange around the South for the weekend were Arrowtown’s Lakes District Museum and Gallery; Cromwell’s big fruit; Gore’s brown trout; Invercargill’s Feldwich Gates, band rotunda and Gala St fountain; Oamaru’s Opera House and Craig Fountain; and Queenstown’s airport terminal.
The challenge is the country’s largest youth fundraising event, and this year’s was focused on tackling severe child hunger in the Solomon Islands.
Participants were encouraged to go ‘‘offline’’ for 40 hours by giving up phones, gaming, social media, streaming, and even electricity, to raise the funds.
World Vision New Zealand national director TJ Grant said young people today lived much of their lives ‘‘online’’, which made going offline for 40 hours a major challenge.
He said the sacrifice of screen time for a short time would make a lifelong difference for hungry children in the Solomon Islands.
‘‘Nearly half of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition which means they don’t get what they need to grow and thrive.
‘‘Funds raised will give families tools and seeds to farm climate-smart crops, plant mangroves to protect their land from rising sea levels and restore fish populations, and provide sustainable food sources for future generations so children can grow up healthy and strong in a changing climate.’’
Mr Grant said it was encouraging that so many landmarks wanted to show their support for this year’s World Vision 40-Hour Challenge.