Claire

Age 18, Victoria

The people I met in East Timor will stay in my heart and mind forever. They helped me see that poverty is not a statistic. It is the life of each one of the incredible, strong, hard-working, and struggling people that I met in East Timor. People like Nanda, a girl who I still think about every single day. Nanda is a 17 year old girl, close to my age, who lives with her mother and siblings – as well as her 18 month old daughter.

Nanda's baby girl Lorentina is badly malnourished, and was taken to hospital for treatment last year. I got the chance to hold Lorentina in my arms, and as I did I cried for her and for Nanda; for the harsh reality they endure every day, for all the things they have to go without while I live in the luxury of Australia, and because the baby in my arms represented the face of poverty.

Lorentina was not a fact or statistic, she is just one of the 1 billion people that will go hungry tonight, and she was right there in my arms crying for her mother. The scale of poverty we have to fight is massive, but after experiencing East Timor I know that we must fight it.

Our 2011 Youth Ambassadors

Aaron
New South Wales
Ashlee
Queensland
Claire
Victoria
Julia
Western Australia
Will
South Australia
Marissa
Christian Ambassador



Claire's blog

  • Claire : Final Blog

    2011 40hf Youth Ambassador ClaireI can’t believe how insanely quickly this year has gone! The 40 Hour Famine is over, the majority of my talks at your schools, churches and social justice groups are over, and this is my final blog! Being a Youth Ambassador has been such an incredible learning experience.  A ...

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  • Claire : Looking Back

    2011 40 Hour Famine Youth Ambassador ClaireThe 40 Hour Famine is over, and I would love to hear about some of your experiences. What did you go without? Was it more difficult than you thought it would be? Did it help you gain a little more understanding of how people all over the world live every ...

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  • Claire : Video Blog Day 6

    2011 40 Hour Famine Youth Ambassador ClaireAll of the Youth Ambassadors who visited East Timor in January this year kept video diaries with some of their thoughts on the people and circumstances they encountered there. These videos give you an insight into what their trip to East Timor was all about, and how the Youth Ambassadors ...

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  • Claire : Not Natural

    Youth Ambassador Claire at work in East TimorOne of the most frustrating myths surrounding poverty is that it is natural – that no matter what we do, there will always be people who simply don’t have enough to meet their basic needs.

    People have said to me, “There just isn’t enough food to feed everyone, it’s sad, ...

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  • Claire : Just a Few More Days

    2011 40 Hour Famine Youth Ambassador ClaireWell guys, the time has finally come; the 40 hour famine begins this Friday!

    I’m a little bit apprehensive, actually. I’ve never done the famine quite like I will be doing this year. This Friday, I'll be starting a “7 meal week” and living on just a bowl of rice ...

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  • Claire : Video Blog Day 5

    2011 40hf YA ClaireAll of the Youth Ambassadors who visited East Timor in January this year kept video diaries with some of their thoughts on the people and circumstances they encountered there. These videos give you an insight into what their trip to East Timor was all about, and how the Youth Ambassadors ...

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  • Claire : Video Blog Day 4

    2011 40HF YA ClaireAll of the Youth Ambassadors who visited East Timor in January this year kept video diaries with some of their thoughts on the people and circumstances they encountered there. These videos give you an insight into what their trip to East Timor was all about, and how the Youth Ambassadors ...

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  • Claire : Turning Compassion into Action

    Claire and LilyYou may have seen the video of an East Timorese girl called Lily, either on the famine website or maybe at a school assembly. Well, I met Lily for myself while I was in East Timor, and now that I’ve had time to reflect and process the things I experienced, ...

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  • Claire : Video Blog Day 3

    2011 Youth Ambassador ClaireAll of the Youth Ambassadors who visited East Timor in January this year kept video diaries with some of their thoughts on the people and circumstances they encountered there. These videos give you an insight into what their trip to East Timor was all about, and how the Youth Ambassadors ...

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  • Claire : Video Blog Day 2

    2011 40hf YA ClaireAll of the Youth Ambassadors who visited East Timor in January this year kept video diaries with some of their thoughts on the people and circumstances they encountered there. These videos give you an insight into what their trip to East Timor was all about, and how the Youth Ambassadors ...

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