Students at Nakusp Secondary School (NSS) got the chance to experience what it was like to really be hungry as they took part in the 30 Hour Famine, an event hosted by World Vision.
The famine was first started in Calgary, Alberta in 1971 when a 17 year old girl and 14 of her friends staged an event in a church basement to see what it was like to be hungry, and to raise money and awareness for children suffering during a famine. The event now takes place in 21 countries across the world.
For the event, students went almost completely without food from noon on April 29 to about 7:30 p.m. on April 30. They were allowed to eat rice part way through the famine, but only about a cup. Students were allowed to drink as much water as they wanted, but juice was only allowed at certain times to help keep their blood sugar levels up.
Participants also stayed at NSS overnight. They were allowed to use the library, the gym, the foods lab, and one of the classrooms. The famine at the school was thought up by the Interact Club.
“It was my idea to have the famine because my sister did it when she was in high school,” said Carmen Larder, president of the Interact Club. “I always wanted to, but they stopped doing it once I got to high school.”
To help keep their minds off their hunger, the students played board games, watched movies, and even had a period for reflection, writing in a journal to reflect on how the famine was affecting them, and how their views have changed about world hunger.
“It really opens up people’s eyes to the reality of it, and puts us in other people’s shoes, even if it’s just for a little bit,” said Larder. “We also raise money for World Vision to help fight world hunger.”
Knowing they were able to raise money for World Vision helped students as they went hungry.
“It feels good,” said Madison Rahn. “It feels like I’m making a mark on this world.”
Though they were hungry, they knew their hunger was only temporary, while for others, this constant hunger is part of their reality.
“It makes us feel the difficulty of hungry people,” said Oliver Kang. “It’s a really useful education for us.”
Bill Gao, a friend of Kang’s, agreed.
“We eat every day, so we should feel very thankful because if we’re hungry, we can eat. But right now, we feel hungry, and we know how hungry people feel.”
