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Rebecca Brutus, 4, hangs on tight to a package of food her family recieved in Leogane, Haiti. Agricultural officials and aid workers worry that while global efforts to help earthquake victims in Haiti are hitting their stride, the ripple effect in the countryside threatens to stymie home farming and worsen conditions in areas where most people already scrape by on less than $2 a day. (Photo by Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
Knowing this, the leaders of the youth group are hoping to make a statement about hunger across the world by holding a hunger strike.
Youth leader Jodi Hall explained that the idea for the event came from the another youth leader Melody Powell.
“She found information about at 30 Hour Famine, and she thought it was interesting,” said Powell. Through that program, youth and adults will actually starve themselves for 30 hours in order to educate the world as to what it really means to starve and be malnourished as a result.
According to 30hourfamine.com, hunger will lead to a preventable death of 8,000 children under the age of five each day. Also, over one billion people around the world will go hungry every day.
With such sad facts, the local youth leaders decided to do their own version of a 30 Hour Famine. While the church does not have the resources to do the 30 hour famine, both Powell and Hall felt that the youth could stand a hunger strike.
The strike, which will take place on Feb. 26, will require the youth to go to dinner, then bowling that evening. Once finished, the youth will head back to the local Walmart and spend 10 percent of what they bought that evening on canned goods or food to give to the needy.
Since initiating the idea, Hall stated that her youth have been excited to contribute to the hunger strike.
“They are really excited; they will get to enjoy themselves, and we hope that it will be meaninigful,” said Hall.
Hall added that from her discussions with Powell, all the youth who have participated in the 30 Hour Famine have benefited from learning about hunger and how to fight it.
Right now, Hall established that the effort is primarily to help the youth at First Baptist understand the meaning of hunger.
“We are focusing on our youth now, but opening it up to others can be something we can talk about,” said Hall.
However, the overall goal, for now, is to show her youth how hunger effects billions of people around the world.
Katie Holland can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 136, or by e-mail at silife@heartlandpublications.com.
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