Students at St. Augustine School got an up close and personal look at the horror of hunger during a food security conference at the school on Oct. 4.
Joanna Lim and Jason Frittaion, representatives of Feed the Children, gave the students a simple but effective way of measuring the toll of hunger. They asked everyone to snap their fingers every three seconds.
Snap. snapsnap
"Every three seconds someone in the world dies of hunger," Frittaion said.
It was a grim start to what was otherwise an uplifting presentation, one that focused on the difference people can make when they set their mind to it.
Lim told a poignant story about a woman from Brunei who struggled with hunger after her father was killed in a botched robbery attempt. At the end of the story, the kids learned that the woman was Lim's mother.
"My mother is my inspiration," Lim said.
Frittaion, 24, and Lim, 26, will be traveling across the country throughout the school year, educating students on the realities of world hunger but, more importantly, hoping to spark some action.
"The key is to focus on empowerment, not just education," Lim said before the presentation.
"We don't want to just say, 'Here's what's going on, see ya,'" Frittaion added.
After the presentation is when the real work begins with various workshops that Lim and Frittaion hoped would result in concrete plans for action.
"It could be fundraising or really anything to help," Lim said.
There was also an emphasis on reminding the kids that hunger isn't something that only happens in failed states and war-torn countries; it also happens right in their backyards. According to Frittaion, food bank usage in Saskatchewan is up over 30 per cent since 2008.
"Most people think hunger only exists in developing countries," he said. "People don't realize it's local."
With any luck, the kids at St. Augustine learned to realize that, and a whole lot more.
