MANILA, Philippines – Out of all the “glamorous” advocacies available, celebrity Kristina Cassandra “KC” Concepcion has chosen the “unsexy” fight against hunger in the country.

Hunger is one of the biggest issues the Philippines is facing right now, she said, and that is why she agreed 6 years ago to be the World Food Programme’s National Ambassador against Hunger here.

The fight is not just hers, though. “Fighting hunger is something that everyone should pay close attention to,” she said during a #TalkThursday interview with Rappler’s Chay Hofileña on April 10.

Watch the interview below.

The Philippines currently ranks 28^th in the world when it comes to hunger. With a Global Hunger Index score of 13.2, there is still a long way to go for it to achieve the top Millennium Development Goal of the country by 2015.

In the #TalkThursday interview, Concepcion said that she believes a family’s purchasing power is the biggest factor in hunger – the less money they have, the less ability they have to get food, leading to hunger.

Hidden hunger is also a threat that should be targeted. Hunger, for her, is really about getting the right nutrients in your body.

 “Just because you can fill your stomach 3 times a day, it doesn’t mean that you’re not malnourished,” she said.

Letting the word out

Concepcion has been working closely with the WFP since 2008. She has since raised almost P1 million (around $23,000) for the cause. A part of this came from her personal belongings, including gowns she wore in several entertainment commitments, which are sold in an online auction called KC’s Closet.

Her advocacy has also brought her to many places, including Africa and Tacloban, on her own expense, as a form of donation. She also doesn’t get paid as ambassador.

Concepcion said fighting hunger is not considered as glamorous as other advocacy campaigns. Foreigners she has met are surprised that the Philippines has a hunger issue, considering that it is an agricultural country.

“It’s not a sexy issue to tackle, not as glamorous as others,” she said.

It is not easy to create a recall for the advocacy against hunger, she said, because it is not heavy on promotions. “The recall is really hard because the branding focuses logistically, by getting on the field and doing the work.”

This is where, according to her, she steps in, since there are a lot of WFP projects that don’t get publicized. “Maybe that’s why I’m here, to let the word out,” she said.

Join a cause

Concepcion thinks that since hunger is a big problem in the country, it will definitely take a lot of work to fix it. She urges people to take on the cause because she can’t do it alone.  (Read: #HungerProject: Collaboration key to ending hunger in the PH) 

“It takes a village, it takes the world, to alleviate something like that,” she admitted.

By helping stop hunger, we can also help someone’s future. “Imagine all the kids that are part of a statistics that you don’t care about, one of them or even a whole village might be the breeding ground of the next scientists, leaders,” she said.

Concepcion advises others to take up, if not the fight against hunher, “at least 3 causes” wholeheartedly.

“Find something that will make you really want to fight it,” she said, “Not just tonight, but for the rest of your lives.” – Rappler.com