More than 100 students and staff from Sacred Heart College, Sorrento recently joined together to host a hunger banquet.
The banquet sought to demonstrate the inequitable distribution of food around the globe and raised awareness about the amount of people living in poverty and the impact that global warming will have on their food security.
The event was attended by State Member for Hillarys, the Hon Robert Johnson MLA JP, and Member for Moore, Ian Goodenough MP. Ms Natalie Weir from Caritas and Fr Patrick Toohey from Our Lady of Grace Parish were also present.
Four Year 11 Sacred Heart students organised the hunger banquet after attending a recent Caritas Australia Just Leadership Day. Year 9 students were also involved as they had been studying about food security and inequity in their geography classes.
A very small portion of those attending had a two-course meal, while a third of those attending received a simpler meal consisting of half a cup of rice and spoonful of beans.
The final group of students and teachers who participated received lettuce leaves with rice and had to ladle water out of a bucket into a cup for a drink.
A noteworthy moment of the day saw everyone pause for a minute’s silence as a bell was rung every 3.6 seconds to signify the death of someone somewhere in the world from hunger.
Commenting on the event, Caritas Australia Global Education Coordinator, Janeen Murphy, said that the focus of the just leadership workshop was to encourage children to learn about poverty, demonstrate the inequality that often exists around food and water distribution and provide information about how the Catholic Church responds to these issues.
“Each of the students was given a tool kit of ideas so they could organise something at their school to educate the wider community about poverty and injustice. It is terrific to see students actively engage in and promote a social justice agenda within their communities,” Ms Murphy said.
“The Hunger Banquet is a perfect example of students being educated about the issues of poverty and choosing to engage with some solutions, education and advocacy rather than expect someone else to do it. I think this is a very tangible expression of faith in action,” she added.
Overwhelmingly pleased with the outcome of the event, Year 11 student Melanie Supanz stated that Sacred Heart College’s hunger banquet brought to life the inequalities of our world.
“It allowed many students, teachers and special guests to experience first-hand how our decisions affect others. After the event, few participants left with full stomachs, but all left with a greater understanding of the problems of hunger and poverty and felt motivated to do something about them,” she said.
Year 9 student Karly Corbett also commented on her positive and eye-opening experience: “It was a great opportunity to experience and learn about the hunger and poverty issues occurring in our world today”.
Speaking of the urgent issue of hunger in the world, Pope Francis has previously highlighted the more than sufficient levels of food production in the world, “yet millions of people are still suffering and dying of starvation. This is truly scandalous”, he said.
Caritas Australia is the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church in Australia and works with marginalised communities in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and within Australia.
Caritas’ role is large and varied, and includes integral human development, emergency relief, rehabilitation and disaster risk reduction, advocacy, peace-building, respect for human rights, and support for stewardship of the planet’s environment and resources, including food security.
In the lead up to Christmas, Caritas is encouraging schools and communities across the country to stand in solidarity with marginalised communities globally by hosting a Caritas Kitchen.
Caritas Kitchen is a simple and social way to support people around the world.
Click Here to how to raise money for Caritas Australia by hosting a Caritas Kitchen.