Merial launches #CALFMATTERS fundraising challenge for Farm Africa

19 June 2017

One hundred animal health professionals have each pledged to walk 10,000 steps a day for 20 weeks to raise awareness of the importance of calf vaccination and raise funds for Farm Africa.

The walkers, who are employees and clients of world-leading animal health company Merial, are aiming to cover a total of 70,500 miles in the #CALFMATTERS challenge and raise £15,000 to help farmers in rural Africa build profitable businesses and escape poverty.

Victoria Hudson, Merial Animal Health’s product manager for Bovalto, said of the challenge: “Our message is about prevention and improving health and productivity. We are all prone to not exercise as much as we should. And while Merial has launched the #CALFMATTERS campaign to improve the health and wellbeing of calves, we wanted to help vets and the Merial team improve their health and fitness too!”

Between 1 June and 21 October the participants will walk a combined 140 million steps by recreating the equivalent of several famous distances such as the Arizona Trail, the Amazon River, and the Great Wall of China. Additionally, each of the walkers have been equipped with a Fitbit to record their personal progress.

Victoria Hudson explained that “Farm Africa helps by giving livestock farmers the advice and access to co-ops to acquire the products and equipment they need, and opens up markets to them to sell their products at a better price.”

Danny Everett, Events Manager at Farm Africa, added that events such as these “go a long way to help us build a prosperous rural Africa and add to our Food for Good fundraising campaign.”

The participant who racks up the highest number of steps will be presented an award at the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) 2017 congress. And all the walkers will earn the pride of helping farmers in eastern Africa grow their incomes while protecting the environment for years to come.

You can sponsor the walkers at: https://www.justgiving.com/calfmatters

If you too would like to get involved and organise a fundraising event, just give us a call on 020 7067 1256 or email us at events@farmafrica.org.